A Fire of Devotion Part 3: Sweeter Than Heaven
by ZeusParker
Summary: Seven and Samantha take their relationship to the next level, some of the Equinox survivors seek redemption, and more evidence is found that the Borg Collective is coming apart at the seams. But will that only make them more dangerous in the short term?


Author's Note: To answer a question some may have had about part 2, regarding the NX-01 adventure, the reason I did not feature T'Pol in the story is because in the _Enterprise_ pilot, "Broken Bow", it was established that while he'd hand picked most of his crew, by the time the _Enterprise_ had to be launched early he had not chosen a science officer or a chief medical officer yet. Also, the Vulcan High Command pretty much forced him to take T'Pol along as a concession in exchange for allowing him to use Vulcan star charts. *shakes head* Seriously, what was it with late-era mainline Trek universe writers and their hatred of Vulcans? I just don't get it. The Vulcans on _Enterprise_ were the culmination of their long slow slide into douchebaggery. But I digress. Since Archer never gave a name for a science officer he would've preferred over having a Vulcan on-board, I just created someone from scratch because since I ignore the whole Temporal Cold War thing (like B &B did themselves after Season 2. #rimshot) the NX-01 in the timeline of my story would not have had any reason to launch early. QED.

A heads up regarding my adaptation of the conclusion to "Equinox;" I am not happy with it. I had several ideas, some of my own, some borrowed from SF Debris' review of it, but I just couldn't make anything work to my satisfaction. This is frustrating on two levels; 1) I was quite happy with how "Equinox Part 1" turned out on my end, and 2) I can't just trunk it because I have long term plans for some of the _Equinox_ survivors to make up for how the show completely ignored them. So yeah, I'm sorry. I think my version of "Equinox Part 2" is even more of a let down than the one on the actual show was, and that Part 2, in the words of Ronald D. Moore who tried his best to punch that script up, "kinda sucks."

Speaking of difficult adaptations, I had similar problems with "Unimatrix Zero Part 1" and "Dragon's Teeth." So much so that in the latter's case I dropped it altogether, after two weeks of work. This, at least in part, explains why the gap between Part 2 and this one was longer than the gap between Part 1 and Part 2. Oh, and speaking of "Unimatrix Zero Part 1," I use the word geopbyte in the chapter. It is in fact a real word, not some bit of technobabble (confession: approx. 100% of the technobabble used in all 4 parts of this fic come straight from the show itself. I am not that clever). Look it up.

On a more positive note, I just want to say I'm grateful to the fans of this story for their patience in waiting for this and Part 4 (I'm working it right now, I promise, and I have the time, it's just energy I lack due to the hot-even-by-California-standards summer). I had wanted to get Part 3 up a few months ago from when I wrote this, but real life didn't so much step in as it kicked the door down and started ransacking the place like an RPG hero looking for extra coins. Hopefully the gap between this one and the next one will be shorter than the one between this one and the last one.

 **Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion  
Part 3 of 4: Sweeter Than Heaven**

By Zeus Parker

 **Chapter One**

"Kathryn!" Chakotay yelled as a fissure opened up behind Captain Janeway's head. The captain dived forward, allowing him to blast the alien coming through with his phaser. Janeway rolled to her left and got up to her knees, and began hitting buttons on the console by her chair.

"Give me tactical control!" she yelled. After a few more button presses, and several more aliens shot down, the screeching noise stopped and the open fissures closed.

"I used a deflector pulse to reinforce the shields," Janeway said.

"How did you know that would work?" Chakotay said, glad for the chance to catch his breath.

"I didn't. Lucky guess. Tom, lay in a pursuit course. Find the _Equinox_. I want my people back, and I want Ransom to pay for what he's done."

"Yes ma'am," Tom Paris said, finally putting away his own phaser before taking the helm once more.

"We may have to wait on that," Harry Kim said.

"Why?" Chakotay said

"Reports are coming in. The engines took heavy damage in the attack."

"Casualties?" Janeway said.

"Two confirmed dead, multiple injuries."

"The aliens kill on contact," Chakotay said. "The injuries were probably the result of the chaos."

"All right, focus on getting the shields back up to full strength, my trick won't hold forever," Janeway said. "We can't help Seven of Nine or Joe Carey if we get killed."

"Captain," Lieutenant Ayala said. "The security team that tried to stop the _Equinox_ crew has also reported in. There's something you should see."

Chakotay wondered what it was but felt it probably could wait, and was about to say so, but he saw the Captain go over to the tactical console.

"Captain?" he asked.

"Son of a bitch," Janeway said. "Make that three."

"Ma'am?" Harry said.

"Ransom has three of our people," Janeway said.

* * *

"Report," Captain Ransom said.

"The shield grid is back in place," Maxwell Burke said. "The aliens are staying clear."

"Are sensors picking up _Voyager_?" Ransom said.

"It looks like they're under attack," Noah Lessing said.

"Maintain course," Ransom said before taking in a deep breath. "Have the prisoners been secured?"

"The brig's a lost cause," Burke said. "We had to put Seven of Nine and the engineer, Carey, in one of the empty crew quarters. We locked the door with a portable magnetic sealer so they won't be able to get out, even if we have any problems with main power."

"Good," Ransom said. He felt like there was something else he should be saying right now, but if there was, it had eluded him. "Good," he repeated, although he felt anything but.

"Rudy? You alright?" Burke said.

"I'm fine, Max," Ransom said, thinking he knew why he wasn't as relieved as he should've been that he was finally going to keep his promise and get his crew home. "They have a full crew, they'll be able to defend themselves long enough to build a new generator. How many aliens did we capture when we fired up the multiphasic generator?"

"Just the one I'm afraid," Burke said. "It'll shave weeks off our journey home, but that's it."

Ransom nodded. "At least we still have the summoning device. It should still be in engineering."

Burke nodded, and tapped his comm badge.

"Burke to Gilmore," he said.

"Gilmore here," Marla Gilmore said, her voice cracking somewhat. Ransom worried about her. Burke had told him how Marla had hesitated to fire on the two _Voyager_ crew members when they'd gotten to engineering to install the generator they'd stolen. She had done her job, had done everything that had been asked of her, same as Burke, Lessing, or any of the others, but Ransom prided himself on knowing his crew, and he knew that all of this had been harder on her than on anyone. Perhaps harder than on himself.

 _Even when we get home_ , he thought, _the trauma of all this is going to be on her shoulders for a long time. Maybe the rest of her life. I know I'm going to a Federation prison when we get home, that's a given, but_ -

"Rudy? Captain?" he heard Burke say, breaking the train of thought.

"Sorry, I got distracted," Ransom said. "What is it?"

"We may have a problem," Burke said, looking upset.

* * *

Seven of Nine checked Joe Carey's pulse and looked for signs of head injury before trying to wake him up. Once the engineer was awake and aware, he looked around at the room the two of them were stuck in. In particular he looked with concern at the piece of metal that was welded over one of the crew quarters' viewports.

"I don't know the _Nova_ -class very well," Carey said, "so either they don't have a brig, or it's wrecked so they set us up in here."

"Either one is possible," Seven said. "Unfortunately, we were both unconscious at the time."

Carey finally stood up, with some assistance from Seven, and made an effort to brush off his uniform, but much of the grime from the damaged crew quarters stuck.

"Obviously the door is sealed. Do we know how?" he asked.

"It's not a force field, that's all I can confirm. I tried to force the door open before I woke you."

Carey nodded, and exhaled sharply. " _Voyager_?"

Seven didn't know what to say. All she knew for certain was that the _Equinox_ crew had returned after somehow escaping confinement on _Voyager_ , stunned her and Carey, and now they were very obviously at warp since she could see the streaking lights outside the undamaged viewport.

"Unknown," she said in frustration. "Apart from our confinement, there's very little I know about our situation. Everything else would be speculation."

"Might as well speculate then," Carey said. "Not like we have anything else we can do at the moment."

Seven thought about it for a moment. "You have a point."

"So," Carey said, starting to pace as he spoke, "given the lack of ominous humming noises, I can assume that the multiphasic shield we built on _Voyager_ is on the _Equinox_ instead."

"Sounds likely," Seven said. "Which means that Ransom and his people likely stole it upon escape."

"Which would've left _Voyager_ vulnerable to attack, which could explain why they haven't come after us yet. If they even-"

"I sincerely doubt that _Voyager_ would've been destroyed after one attack," Seven said, not sure if she actually believed it, or just wanted to since the alternative would be too heartbreaking to consider. "Setting aside that the _Intrepid_ -class is twice the size of the Nova, the crew is fully staffed and was alerted to the warning signs of impending attack."

"True," Carey said, sighing. "Of course, this means even if they can catch up to us, we have no idea how big a head-start the _Equinox_ has."

"That is one piece of positive news I can offer," Seven said. "In case you forgot, we already had the device they used to process the bodies of the aliens disconnected from the warp drive when we were attacked. Depending on how long it takes them to re-install it, and given that _Voyager_ would begin pursuit as soon as the first attack was repelled, it is likely they could catch up to us given that the Nova-class normally has a maximum speed of warp 8, while _Voyager_ can achieve a cruising speed of 9.75."

"I never pegged you for an optimist, Seven," Carey said.

"I'm not being optimistic," Seven said. "I'm engaging in speculation as per your recommendation."

"Touche," Carey said. "Any thoughts on how to escape?"

"I have some ideas," Seven said.

* * *

"This is my fault," Janeway said, as she and Commander Chakotay walked down the corridor towards sickbay. "I came down on the _Equinox_ crew like a ton of bricks. I let my anger at what they'd done to those aliens cloud my judgement and as a result I forced Ransom into a corner. This was inevitable. Hell, I can't even lie to myself and say I wouldn't have done the same thing if it were my crew about to thrown under the bus by another Captain.

"Ransom asked me to show leniency to his crew, and all I said was 'I'd consider it.' I meant it, I would've been perfectly willing to not throw every single one of them in the brig, but maybe if I'd told him that upfront instead of-"

"Captain," Chakotay said, "I can't stop you from blaming yourself for all of this, I know you too well. But what I can do is ask you to put the self-loathing on hold until we get our people back."

Janeway nodded. Her first officer wasn't usually this harsh with her, but given the circumstances she couldn't blame him. Two crewmen were dead, one of whom had served with Chakotay in the Maquis. On top of that, three of their crew were in the hands of a Starfleet Captain who had gone off the deep end.

 _Another one_ , Janeway thought. _Two bad Captains in as many months. First Archer, now Ransom. Am I going to get home only to learn that Jean-Luc Picard's cheese has slipped off his cracker too?_

"Suggestion noted," she said. "Since I'm taking suggestions, thoughts on how we should approach the EMH?"  
"Not sure," Chakotay admitted. "If we let him know that we know he's actually the _Equinox's_ Doctor, we have no idea what he'll do. We don't know what he did to our Doctor to get his mobile emitter, and he was able to lie his way into the confinement area to get them phasers, as well as reroute transporter controls. He could be a threat to us.

"At the same time though, unless and until we can get our Doctor back, he's the only experienced medical officer on board, and we need that more than ever considering the crisis we're in."

"At the same time," Janeway said, "he has additional knowledge about the aliens that we can use. How can we get that out of him without giving away that we know who he really is?"

Chakotay didn't say anything, his face betraying that he was struggling to come up with an idea. After a few moments, he visibly gave up, shaking his head.

"Alright," he said. "Screw it. Let's go old fashioned. Good cop, bad cop as our ancestors used to say."

"So who gets to be the good cop?" Janeway asked.

"Might as well be me," Chakotay said. "I've done it before."

"Thanks for volunteering," Janeway said.

The two officers arrived at sick-bay and immediately entered, and Janeway was briefly taken aback by what she saw. Two of the bio-beds were full, blankets pulled over the heads of the unmoving occupants.

 _Tim Lang and Ken Dalby_ , Janeway thought.

The rest of the room was nearly overflowing with crew members with varying injuries. She spotted the young Bajoran crewman, Gerron, standing by Dalby's body, saying a Bajoran prayer. Janeway's heart broke for him. Dalby had been like an older brother to Gerron since their time in the Maquis, and the two officers had been all but inseparable since joining her crew. She decided to use that sadness to fuel her rage. If she was going to play Bad Cop to get information out of the _Equinox_ EMH, it needed to be as real as possible.

The EMH was, to his credit, doing his job professionally, having been returned to sickbay after the attack. Tom Paris was also there, his field medic skills being put to good use. If Tom had let slip that he knew this holographic doctor wasn't _their_ holographic doctor, neither gave any indication of it. Janeway spotted the mobile emitter resting in the container _Voyager's_ EMH usually kept it in when it wasn't being used. She picked it up.

"Doctor," Janeway said.

"Captain," the EMH said. "I am relieved to report that were no further fatalities from the alien attack. Some serious sprains and a few concussions from people diving out of the way, a few people were hit by stray phaser blasts that were all thankfully set on stun and…" The EMH spotted the mobile emitter in her hand, and looked her in the eye.

"Everyone cleared to leave already," Janeway said sternly, "do so. This EMH isn't our Doctor."

"Captain, I don't know what you-"

"Spare me," Janeway said, practically spitting out the words. "Two security officers saw you before you turned yourself off. You stole this," she held up the mobile emitter, "from our Doctor, and allowed Ransom and his people to escape, steal the multi-phasic shield generator, kidnap two of my people, and leave us behind to die. Give me one good reason I shouldn't delete you right now."

The EMH stood straight at attention. "Your navigator is a competent medic," he said. "but I am the only doctor you have on board."

"He's right, Captain," Chakotay said, effortlessly sliding into his role in this interrogation.

Janeway slid the emitter into her pocket. "Not good enough," she said. "I want every bit of information you have on the aliens."

"Do you intend to use them to get home as well?" the EMH said, almost smiling.

Janeway moved in closer to the EMH. "Not a chance in hell. I want to communicate with them. We believe their screeching is their form of language."

"It's not like they'll listen to you," the EMH said, crossing his arms in a gesture that suggested he wasn't intimidated. "Do you know how many of my crew they killed?"

"You have some nerve," Janeway said, "blaming them for what your captain did."

"Captain Ransom is merely fulfilling his promise to get his crew home," the EMH said. "He knows full well that he'll probably spend the rest of his life in prison for using these aliens as fuel, but-"

"Yeah, Rudy gave me that spiel as well," Janeway said, putting as much invective as she could manage on the _Equinox_ captain's name. "His crew will join him, even if he doesn't realize that, and so will you."

The EMH scoffed. "More likely Starfleet will simply delete me, just like you threatened to."

"Well, why wait then?" Janeway said, moving towards the main sickbay console.

"Wait," Chakotay said. Janeway had her back turned to the EMH so she allowed herself a small smirk. "Doctor, if you help us, we can make it worth your while."

"How so?" the EMH said, sounding skeptical.

"You may have noticed our Doctor has certain, privileges, that you may not have had on the _Equinox_."

"True. The ability to turn myself off certainly came in handy earlier. And access to the Holodeck as well. Your EMH had quite the life. Lucky him. I spent my free time recording the results of autopsies for my shipmates."

Janeway could hear the contempt in the EMH's voice. This doctor had developed a personality from being left on so long, just like _Voyager's_ had, but this one's was a much darker one. Part of her wondered if Ransom would've even needed to delete this EMH's ethical subroutines if he'd merely waited.

"The Captain can lock all that out from right here," Chakotay said. "But you could earn those privileges back by helping us."

Janeway turned around to look at the EMH. "I don't think we should be rewarding him for what he did," she said. "Lang and Dalby are dead in part because of him."

The EMH shook his head. "They're dead because of the aliens. Can it really be my fault, or even Captain Ransom's for that matter, that the beasts can't tell the difference between _Voyager_ and _Equinox_?"

Janeway saw Chakotay's fists clench from the corner of her eye, the limits of his 'good cop' persona already being tested. _Maybe we should delete him anyway_ , she thought. _This hologram is a monster_.

"If you think so lowly of the aliens," Chakotay said, "then you shouldn't have any qualms about sharing everything you know about them with us."

The EMH shrugged. "Fine," he said. "But only because I doubt it'll do you any good."

* * *

"You're sure?" Ransom said, sitting on a partially ripped chair in his personal quarters that he used as his ready room too, since currently the actual ready room was exposed to vacuum.

Marla Gilmore hung her head in shame, though deep down she didn't feel it that much.

"Yes," she said. "The summoning device is gone. I think it must've been taken to _Voyager_. I've searched everywhere."

"Could either of the prisoners still have it on them?" Maxwell Burke said, fuming.

"Ease off, Max," Ransom said. "That device was too big to just fit in someone's pocket, and Marla and Noah took their comm badges and phasers after they were stunned. If Seven of Nine or Joe Carey had it, it would've been found then."

"We need to keep looking," Burke said.

"I looked everywhere, twice," Gilmore said. "Even places it had never been while we had it."

"So, we can't be hurt by them anymore, but we can't use them either," Burke said, throwing his hands up and pacing in frustration, his face turning red. "Great. Just fucking great." Gilmore found herself afraid that Burke might hit her. If he was going to though, Ransom stopped him.

"Max, we've still got one body we can use once we get the enhanced drive reassembled. We'll have enough of a lead on _Voyager_ that we can find an M-Class planet and stock up on food there."

"We were so close, Rudy," Burke said. Ransom put a hand on Burke's shoulder and smiled.

"I'm keeping my promise to this crew," he said. He nodded towards Gilmore. "To all of you. We went from looking at a seventy year journey, to imminent death, only to turn it around and get us to a hair under thirty years. It's not as much as any of us hoped, but it's not nothing, and who's to say we won't find something else, like a wormhole or spatial anomaly?"

Gilmore sighed. All the guilt she'd been suppressing ever since they started killing the aliens, the ones who had been called spirits of good fortune by the people who had cared for the starving and hopeless _Equinox_ crew, was finally starting to crush in on her, and she wanted to take it all back. She wished she'd not gone along with the others on the plan to steal the generator. She would've preferred _Voyager's_ brig to this broken starship that she was supposed to call home. Her hand brushed the handle of her phaser, and not for the first time in the last several weeks she contemplated pulling it out, setting it to kill, and putting it in her mouth. The fact that the alien that had tried and failed to get at them when the new generator had been turned on would be the last of it's kind to suffer for her sake.

"Marla?" she heard Captain Ransom say.

"Huh? Sorry, Captain. I was distracted," she said, putting aside thoughts of suicide for another day.

"I asked how the reassembling the enhanced warp drive was going."

"Almost done," she said. "Seven and Carey were very methodical in taking it apart. The only problem has been finding out where some of the bolts Mister Carey dropped when Noah stunned him rolled under, but worse case scenario we might be able to make some crude replacements out of some of the broken bulkheads. I don't want to do that just yet though."

Ransom sighed. "Depending on how bad _Voyager_ got hit," he said, "Janeway's going to come after us. We'll have to risk the short cut solution. Worry about the bolts later."

"Understood," Gilmore said, heading back to engineering. On the way out though, she couldn't help but overhear Burke and Ransom before the door slid shut.

"Rudy, I checked out sickbay after our escape. Looks like _Voyager's_ EMH was downloaded to our databanks by our EMH before he helped us escape."

"A noble sacrifice," Ransom said. "I wouldn't have expected something like that after we deleted his ethical subroutines."

 _Please_ , she thought, _don't let them pervert the other EMH too_.

* * *

"Not exactly Shakespeare, but it gets the point across," Janeway said, looking at the PADD Chakotay had handed her containing the message they would try to transmit to the aliens attacking them.

"Probably for the best," Chakotay said. "If we sent them the text of _Titus Adronicus_ they'd only want to kill us more."

"Not funny," Janeway said, handing the PADD back. "A small olive branch is still an olive branch. Run this through Harry's translation matrix."

"Prepare to drop shields, bridge only," Chakotay said, hand on the grip of his phaser, but not taking it out. Janeway appreciated both his optimism and his caution.

"Harry?" Janeway said.

"Ready," Harry said.

"Do it."

The computer began emitting a tone similar to the screeching noise that always preceded the arrival of one of the aliens, and soon the tone itself came back. A portal opened near the viewscreen. Tom pointed his phaser at it, but hesitated. An alien came through, and flew towards Harry, but harry didn't flinch, even as the rest of the bridge crew drew their own phasers. The alien stopped short, and looked at Harry for a few seconds, it's head tilting like a dog when you change it's food bowl, before flying back through the portal, which promptly closed.

"Get the shields back up," Janeway said, wondering if what had just happened was a good or bad sign. Seconds later, the alien tone stopped.

"If they understood our message," Harry said, "they haven't responded."

The ship shuddered violently.

"There's the response," Janeway said. "Activate another deflector pulse."

"Shields holding at sixty-two percent," Tuvok said.

"That should buy us a few more minutes of peace and quiet," Janeway said. "Re-focus our efforts on repairing the warp drive."

"I'd like to take another stab at that message if I may," Chakotay said.

"Go ahead," Janeway said, though she doubted it would do any good. "Everyone else, I want us to focus on finding the _Equinox_. Ransom won't get away with trying to get us killed, and he sure as hell won't get away with Seven, Lieutenant Carey, or the Doctor."

Chakotay looked like he wanted to say more, but kept his mouth shut.

"Uh, Captain?" Tom said. "I know this probably isn't high on the priority list right now, but, it's just that, Ensign Wildman had a bridge shift that started over an hour ago and she hasn't shown up."

Janeway nodded, remembering how Sam had been when Seven had been taken by the Borg months before.

"I'll talk to her," Janeway said. "Report to me when the warp drive is back-"

"Torres to Bridge," B'Elanna's voice said over the comm.

"What is it?" Janeway said.

"I was going through the crates of material from the _Equinox_ we were able to bring over. I think we have that summoning device you said Ransom told you about."

Janeway smiled. _If that means what I think it means…_

"Double your efforts on those engines B'Elanna. We may just get your assistant chief back to you sooner than I'd hoped."

"Good. I don't think Vorik likes the idea of getting a promotion this way," B'Elanna said.

* * *

Samantha Wildman winced as she forced herself to stand up. She adjusted her padded helmet, checked the straps on her gloves, and, woozy, told the computer to restart the simulation.

"Warning," the computer's voice said. "holodeck user is at risk of serious injury."

"Just do it," Sam said through gritted teeth, putting up her fists in a defensive position, shifting her stance.

"Computer, freeze program," another voice said.

Sam turned to see who had interrupted her, ready to yell at them, until she realized it was Captain Janeway, standing in the holodeck doorway, looking concerned.

"You were late for your bridge shift," Janeway said. "I wanted to check up on you."

"Oh, I didn't realize how long I'd been in here," Sam said.

Janeway walked up to her. "I remember this program." she said. "Hand to hand combat training? What brought this on?"

"Do you really have to ask Captain?" Sam said, pulling off her safety gear, biting back a yell of pain as she did so. She imagined she must look worse than she felt, because Janeway winced.

"Holy… Sam, you really should get those cuts and bruises looked at."

"I can't learn if it doesn't hurt," Sam said. "I'll get cleaned up and meet you on the bridge."

"No, you're going to sickbay first. I've seen professional boxers with less bruises than you. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Sam said, "that I am sick and tired of not being to able to protect the people I love. I was thinking that maybe it's time I stop laying low when shit gets bad and waiting for Tuvok and his team to fix everything. But mostly I was thinking how satisfying it would be to knock one or two of Captain Rudolph Ransom's teeth out."

Janeway frowned. "Samantha, this isn't you," she said. "You are the least violent person I know, and my best friend is a Vulcan."

"Yeah, well, maybe it should be me. All these years, I have never fought back, just relied on my shipmates to protect me, or my daughter, or Seven, and look what's it gotten me, just this year? It's time I learn to protect my family myself, because if this whole mess with the _Equinox_ has taught me anything it's that I can't rely on Starfleet to do it all for me."

Sam let her gloves drop to the floor. They were holographic anyway, no point in putting them back in the equally holographic foot locker they came in when she started the program, however many hours, and bruises, ago that was.

"Sam," Janeway said. "You look terrible. Go to sickbay to get checked out. I can give you a pass on showing up late, your fiancee was just kidnapped."

"Again," Sam said bitterly. "And with all due respect Captain, I'd rather just take my post. I do not want whatever bruise I have being tended to by the holographic son of a bitch who helped that happen."

Janeway sighed. "I guess I can understand that, but until we can get our Doctor back, and we will get him back, the _Equinox_ EMH is the only doctor we have. Don't make me pull rank, Sam."

Sam wanted to argue, but then a sharp pain in her wrists made her reconsider.

"Yes, Captain," Sam said, walking towards the exit. "Computer, end program."

"By the way," Janeway said, "how's Naomi holding up?"

Sam sighed, and began to tear up. "As optimistic as ever. She thinks we can get Seven back."

"I do too," Janeway said.

"Captain, be honest with me. Why do you think it is I'm more scared about her being in Ransom's clutches than I was when she was with the Borg?"

Janeway looked surprised at that question. "I honestly don't know Sam," she said. "I just don't know."

* * *

"That wasn't as much of a boost as I was expecting," Captain Ransom said as the _Equinox_ dropped out of warp, "but then again we did have to wait while we repaired the engine. The alien's body was decaying that whole time. Still, we've got a decent enough lead on _Voyager_ I think. Noah, begin scanning for Class-M planets. We've got two more mouths to feed, so we'll need to stock up on food supplies."

"Why not just leave them behind?" Burke said. "We don't really gain anything by keeping them prisoner here."

"They're Starfleet officers," Ransom said.

"Rudy," Burke said, "so was the crew of _Voyager_. But we left them behind because they were trying to stop us from getting home. The ex-drone and the engineer would try to stop us too if they ever escaped. Hell, the ex-drone might try to take revenge on us. Her fiancee's on _Voyager_."

Ransom nodded. He remembered Marla telling him about Seven of Nine's path since being freed from the Borg collective by Captain Janeway.

"Fair point, Max," Ransom said. "but I think we've thrown enough of our own to the wolves for one lifetime. If Seven of Nine or Lieutenant Carey become a problem, we'll deal with that then. For now, make sure they get some food. Make sure whoever takes them their meals has guards on them, just to be safe."

"Captain," Noah Lessing said, "long range sensors have picked up a planet that matches the criteria we're looking for. Ample plant and animal life, no signs of any civilization."

"Good work, Noah," Ransom said. "Take us into orbit, then take two people down with you to start gathering supplies. Look for plants that could be used as medicines as well."

"Yes sir," Lessing said.

"You won't be protected from the aliens if they try to attack you down there," Burke said. "Take phaser rifles with you, and we'll beam you out at the first sign of trouble."

Noah nodded, and headed towards the turbolift.

"Rudy," Burke said, "one last thing. The _Voyager_ EMH. What should we do about him? I know we still need a doctor, but if we don't alter his programming he may attempt to sabotage us."

"I considered that already," Ransom said. "If this were still _Voyager_ that would be a concern, but he doesn't have free reign of our systems here like he does there. Not to mention, his programming has expanded remarkably in the past five years. Makes our EMH look like he just came off the assembly line by comparison. I wouldn't want to risk ruining him. That would be a waste of resources. He doesn't necessarily know that however, so feel free to convince him that we're willing to delete him altogether if he doesn't cooperate with us."

"And if he calls my bluff?" Burke said.

"I have faith in your ability to be convincing, Max," Ransom said. "Say whatever you think he needs to hear to be kept in line."

* * *

B'Elanna put the alien device down on the briefing room table.

"I confirmed it," she said. "This is what Ransom and his people were using to summon the aliens to their… well, let's just call it a murder machine. Saying 'their engine' just feels like too clean a euphemism."

Janeway smirked, inwardly agreeing with B'Elanna.

"So?" Tom said. "What good is that going to do us?"

"It means we don't have to risk the bridge to try talking to them again," Janeway said. "We can set this up in a cargo bay, drop the shields around it, and transmit our message to the aliens directly.

Chakotay nodded.

"Considering how it went last time," Tuvok said, "it is unlikely that doing so would increase our chances of success, merely reduce the likelihood of immediate death upon failure."

"I agree with Tuvok," Tom said.

"I don't" Harry said. "That alien that came onto the bridge the first time we tried, it could've killed me right away. There's no way I would've gotten a phaser blast off fast enough. It didn't. There's more intelligence there than the _Equinox_ EMH gives them credit for."

"That's a low bar, Harry," Tom said. "The Tal Shi'ar would refuse to hire him on ethical grounds."

"I am going to assume that that statement was an attempt at comedic exaggeration," Tuvok said, "and refrain from pointing out the various known medical atrocities committed by that Romulan organization."

"Gentlemen, if we could return to the topic?" Janeway said. "B'Elanna, do we know how to work the thing?"

B'Elanna nodded. "Ensign Gilmore was very forthcoming with data to Commander Chakotay. Before she escaped and left us to die, that is."

Janeway nodded. "And the engines?" she said.

"Ready," B'Elanna said.

"Tom," Janeway said, "get to your station and plot a pursuit course, maximum warp. Harry, get to astrometrics. The Borg-enhanced sensors will give us the best chance of finding them and catching up to them.

"Chakotay, how's the second draft of our message to the aliens coming along?"

"It's ready as well," Chakotay said. "And I've even written up a third one, just to be safe."

"Alright people, let's not waste any more time," Janeway said. "Dismissed."

* * *

Seven of Nine felt around the walls of the crew quarters that she and Carey were locked in for the third time. She found nothing she could take advantage of to allow them to escape, also for the third time.

"They'll bring us food eventually," Carey said, leaning back on the unburned half of the quarters' main couch. "If they were going to kill us, they would've done it while we were unconscious, not go to all the trouble of letting us starve to death."

"A logical conclusion," Seven said. "However, I would point out that the actions of Ransom and his crew have not been wholly logical."

"Well," Carey said, "not to us anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"With the caveat that I in no way condone what Ransom did," Carey said, standing back up, "I can see how someone could be pushed to the point where they would seriously consider doing it."

"The mass execution of an alien species for fuel," Seven said, "or the leaving _Voyager_ and her crew behind to die at the hands of said aliens?"

"The first one," Carey said. "That second part, there's no way I could defend that. I-"

A sound cut Carey off mid-sentence, and Seven turned to face the door. It slid open, and Marla Gilmore stood there, carrying two cases of Starfleet issue rations. Two gold shirts were behind her, one pointing a phaser rifle at the two prisoners, while the second held a hand phaser in one hand, and the magnetic sealer in the other.

"I, um, brought you something," Gilmore said, visibly uncomfortable. Seven noticed that the other woman's hands were shaking slightly.

 _Probably expecting one or both of us to attack her,_ Seven thought. Such an action was part of her and Joe Carey's plan, though the idea was not to do so right away, as that would be expected. The goal was to wait until a future point where they were being brought food, or if either the Captain or first officer Burke wanted to speak to them for some reason.

"Thank you, Marla," Seven said. Gilmore looked down, her face betraying her shame.

"I'm really sorry I shot you Seven," she said. "We just wanted to get home, and… I'm sorry, for everything. It wasn't worth it."

"What wasn't worth it?" Seven said.

Gilmore stepped forward and gave the two cases to Seven.

"We shouldn't have stolen the generator," she said. "We abandoned your crew to those aliens. You people did nothing to them, but now they've had to pay for our sins. It isn't right. I know it probably means nothing, but I hope your fiancee and her daughter survived. That little girl was so kind to me when I first came on board and..." Gilmore wiped tears away from her eyes.

"I should go," she said quietly, leaving the crew quarters in a hurry, nearly knocking one of the guards over as she shoved past him into the corridor. The doors slid shut, and Seven could hear the sound of the magnetic sealer being put back into place.

"Would it be too pedantic of me to point out that it was Lessing that stunned you and it was me that Gilmore shot?" Carey said.

"Very," Seven said. "However, given that we have, to borrow a phrase, just been given a gift, I'm going to refrain from commenting."

"It's just MREs, Seven," Carey said. "Frankly I had my fill of those during the Cardassian War, and I only had to eat them for three days. I don't look forward to the next however many months or years or… is that what I think it is?"

Seven of Nine held the small Type-1 hand phaser, the kind that was generally used on covert missions and could be easily slipped into a pocket without making a bulge like the more common hand phasers would, the kind that Marla Gilmore had somehow slipped into one of the ration cases without being noticed, and allowed herself a small smile.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before," Carey said. "I like it."

"Samantha seems pleased with it as well," Seven said.

* * *

The second attempt to communicate with the aliens attacking _Voyager_ had gone about as well as the first, in that no one was killed then either. Instead, the aliens simply ignored them. Janeway rubbed her eyes, frustrated at the situation.

"Well," Chakotay said, standing by her side in cargo bay 1, a table with the summoning device on it in front of them, "on the bright side Tom was able to find the warp trail of the _Equinox_ fairly quickly."

"Any sign they've been able to use their enhanced drive?" Janeway said, turning to leave the cargo bay.

"Yes, but," Chakotay said, "I ran the data through astrometrics. The short version is basically they only seem to have been able to capture one alien using the multiphasic generator. Not sure why, but the line on the map suggests they only got one short jump out of it before having to return to normal warp. The bad news of course-"

"There's always bad news," Janeway said.

"Yes, and in this case that bad news is they still have a solid lead on us. I've been using the maps of the area Seven was able to give us from the Borg data nodes, and while they aren't as detailed as we'd like, we still have a good idea of what the first planet the _Equinox_ crew would stop at to re-supply."

"How certain of that are we?"

"Their replicators were still not repaired when they escaped. They only got away with the day's worth of rations they had with them in confinement, plus a few more their EMH was able to slip them, along with their communicators and phasers. Even if Ransom was strict with the food supplies, with two prisoners aboard they couldn't possibly make those last more than four days, at best."

"Assuming they didn't just kill Seven or Joe," Janeway said. "I've noticed that Rudolph Ransom seems to bring out the worst in people lately. Even if he didn't ask, I wouldn't put it past Burke or one of the other survivors to decide that keeping them alive would be more trouble than it's worth."

"You don't believe that," Chakotay said. "If you did, you wouldn't be losing sleep and pushing the ship and crew to their limits to try and rescue them."

"It's not just about rescuing them," Janeway said. "Ransom hurt this crew. My crew. My family. I want to make him pay for it."

Chakotay exhaled sharply. "I was afraid of that," he said. "Still, I'd like to think that you won't endanger this ship for the sake of that revenge. I want our people back as much as you, and I certainly want to see Ransom tossed into our brig for the rest of the trip home. I just don't want you to lose your humanity in the process. If you go too far-"

"Then I'll be no better than him," Janeway said. "Yeah, I know. Hopefully, once we catch up to him he'll have the good sense to surrender, because I can't promise I won't turn his ship into scrap if he tries to fight us. I have had a long five years Chakotay, and right now every part of me is egging me on to take it all out on Captain Rudolph Ransom."

"I can empathize with that," Chakotay said.

* * *

Joe Carey quietly made his way down the hell, the comparatively tiny phaser in his hand, and having second thoughts about having agreed to be the distraction part of the plan.

"Okay, okay," he said quietly to himself, "just find an EPS conduit and blow it up. No biggie. Then when security comes to get me, Seven can sneak into engineering to sabotage the warp drive. Easy peasy as my boys would say."

He turned a corner, and jumped back when he saw the backside of someone who was neither Seven of Nine, nor Ensign Gilmore. He quietly stepped backwards, hoping whoever it was didn't hear him. He heard footsteps coming in his direction and he ducked behind a fallen bulkhead, glad that it was big enough to hide behind, but cognizant of the fact that there was dried blood on the floor beneath it. He winced in sympathy for whoever the poor crew member that had been crushed has been.

Carey peaked through a small gap in the debris, and saw Maxwell Burke walk past the junction in the corridor, muttering to himself about something. Carey held his breath, waited a few more seconds, then stood up, moving around the debris once more to resume his journey, hoping he didn't lost too much time to having to hide. He walked past where Burke had been, and noticed that it was the door to sickbay.

 _Well well_ , he thought. _Wrecking something in here is bound to get their attention._

He went inside, and nearly gasped when he saw the EMH, standing over a console.

"'Help us or we'll delete you,' he says. Like I'm supposed to buy that," he said, not seeing Carey behind him. "They need me and they know it. What did B'Elanna ever see in that man in the first place?"

Carey tilted his head. _Is that… No, it can't be._ "Doc?" he said.

The Doctor turned around, and smiled. "Lieutenant Carey!" he said. "Excellent. I had hoped you and Seven would find a way to escape. I'm sorry I couldn't help, but that other EMH stole my mobile emitter. Speaking of Seven, where is she?"

"She's fine," Carey said. "This ship's EMH stole your emitter huh? I guess that explains how Ransom and his people escaped _Voyager_. Anyway, Marla Gilmore helped us escape. She slipped us a phaser that we used to cut our way out, and now I'm supposed to cause a distraction to allow Seven to get to engineering and sabotage the warp core."

"A bold strategy," the Doctor said. "I approve. I very much would like to have my sickbay back. The _Equinox_ EMH had his ethical subroutines deleted, so by now he's probably used mine to develop some kind of chemical weapon, or some other sort of atrocity."

"Well, glad you aren't attached to this place Doc," Carey said, "because I was thinking I could break something in here to get the bridge's attention."

The Doctor motioned to his left. "I'd suggest starting with the machine they've been using to experiment on the bodies of the aliens they've been massacring," he said. "I'll load up some hyposprays with a strong sedative that we can use on whoever comes to sickbay to investigate the explosion."

"Do you have any chemicals on hand I could use to rig up a crude explosive?"

"I do," the Doctor said. "I happen to have taken an inventory of their sickbay's stocks before I was so rudely robbed of my mobile emitter."

* * *

"Captain, there's been an explosion in sickbay!" Burke said over the comm.

"What?" Ransom said in shock. "Are you alright Max?"

"Yeah, yeah," Burke said, "I was already in the turbolift when I heard it. I went back when I felt the shudder. There's smoke coming out of the sickbay door. It's too thick to see through. My tricorder says it's chemical so I can't get too close without a breather mask."

"Get one," Ransom said. "I'll send someone down to help you." Ransom tapped a button on the console on the arm of his chair. "Bridge to engineering," he said.

"Gilmore here," Marla said.

"There's been an explosion on sickbay," Ransom said. "I think our prisoners may have had something to do with it. We're short handed with people down on the planet. Go check on them, but be careful. If they've gotten out somehow, report to the bridge immediately."

"Understood sir," Marla said, sounding almost happy to be doing so. That set off a mental red flag in Ransom, but he pushed it aside. If Marla really had turned on him, it was more likely that she would've refused to help him and the others steal the multiphasic shield generator from _Voyager_ in the first place.

* * *

Marla Gilmore was alone when she left engineering. She looked around as she exited, and spotted Seven of Nine, waiting in the corridor. Seven opened her mouth to ask a question but Marla held up one finger.

"Lieutenant Prochnow's by the warp core," she said. "Do you have the phaser?"

"Mister Carey has it," Seven admitted. "It would've been advisable to give us two phasers."

"I took what I thought I could get away with from the armory," she said. She took out her hand phaser and tossed it to Seven, who checked to make sure it was on stun. "I'm my way to check on the prisoners. Captain's orders."

"Thank you, Ensign Gilmore," Seven said.

"Good luck, Ensign Hansen," Gilmore said.

"Call me Seven."

"Good luck, Seven. And hurry."

"Understood," Seven said. Gilmore ran down the corridor. Seven waited a few seconds, then moved to the entrance to engineering. The door opened, and Prochnow, a giant of a man, the tallest human being Seven had ever seen, started to turn around.

"Back already, Mar-"

Seven fired her phaser before the man could finish the question. The large man fell backwards, nearly hitting his head on a console before collapsing to the floor. Seven was glad he had missed the console, as she did not want to be responsible for anyone's traumatic brain injury.

 _Unless Sam is hurt_ , she thought, _in which case I will very gladly inflict traumatic brain injuries on Captain Ransom_.

Seven took Marla Gilmore's phaser and raised the setting, and aimed for a plasma conduit, standing as far back from it as she could. Even at this distance she still risked injury, but it was the best way. With the conduit punctured, warp travel would be impossible until it could be repaired. Any attempt to go to warp otherwise would fill the entire room with lethal and combustible gas.

"This one's for you, Sam," Seven whispered to herself as she fired the phaser.

* * *

When Seven awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was strapped tightly to the bio-bed in the sickbay of the _U.S.S. Equinox_. The second was that her head hurt. The third was that to her left the EMH, looking saddened, was standing next to Joe Carey, who had his hands on his head while Maxwell Burke pointed a phaser at both of them.

"What?" she said. "What happened?"

"Your little plan almost worked," the voice of Rudolph Ransom said. "You sabotaged our warp drive well enough, but you weren't able to get away before Jason Prochnow came to and shot you."

Seven tried to remember that, but the last thing she could remember before waking up was shooting the plasma conduit. She was glad that that had worked at least. Seven moved her head a little more, trying to get a better look at her situation. She could see Ransom in her peripheral vision, just barely, but she could see quite well Ensign Gilmore and the aforementioned Jason Prochnow, the latter holding the former's arm in a grip that looked like it had to hurt the Ensign.

"So," Ransom continued, "we can repair the damage you did, but that leaves the question of what to do with the four of you. My XO wants to strand you, Mister Carey, and Marla on the planet below us and delete the Doctor. That would certainly be the easiest solution. But I imagine you have alternatives. I'm curious to hear them."

"You won't do anything until I've properly treated Seven," the EMH said. The way he said it, and the fact that he had a phaser pointed at him, gave Seven pause. It took her a moment to realize the implications. This was not the _Equinox_ EMH.

 _That explains so much_ , she thought.

"Fair enough," Ransom said. "Do it, and quickly."

"Look," Carey said, "there's no point in keeping this up. Even before we sabotaged your ship, Captain, you weren't in a position to keep going like you were before. Just head back towards _Voyager_ and turn yourself over to Captain Janeway."

"After what we did?" Burke said. "Forget it. We'll be lucky if she only puts us in the brig for the next thirty years. She'd just as likely kick us out an airlock."

"That's not true," the Doctor said defensively.

 _I'd do it_ , Seven thought, all patience and empathy for this other ship's crew, Marla excluded, rapidly evaporating.

"Is it really that implausible?" Ransom said. "You've seen how far I'm willing to go when I've been pushed to the breaking point. Your ship has been under attack from the same aliens who've been attacking us for days now. Who knows how many people Janeway has lost by now. If I were her, I would definitely want retribution."

"You're not her," Carey said. "And she's not you. She would never have done what you did to those aliens."

"Easy for you to say," Ransom said. "Working holodecks, working shuttle bay, clean decks; you people honestly have no grasp on how easy you've had it do you? Honestly, apart from missing your families what hardships has the crew of _Voyager_ had out here?"

 _The Vidiians, the Borg, Species 8472, the Hirogen, the Malon_ … Seven thought.

"Just leave us behind," she said. "At the very least, even if _Voyager_ doesn't find us, we'd be spared any more of your justifications."

Ransom turned to look at Burke.

"As tempting as it is," he said, "we're already shorthanded. We need manpower to repair the damage you four did. I think forcing you to fix it would be a perfectly suitable punishment."

"Why would we cooperate with you?" the Doctor said.

"Because if you don't, we have the ability to lower the multiphasic shield around just this room. You'd be at the mercy of those aliens. It won't get you killed of course Doctor, but you would be forced to watch the others die. I doubt your programming would allow for that."

"You say that with a straight face," Marla said, "and you wonder why I was willing to help them? You've gone too far Captain. We all have, I know I helped this happen. I wish I could go back and say 'No' to when you told me to build that enhanced engine. I ignored my own conscience-"

"Conscience is a luxury out here, Ensign!" Ransom yelled.

"This isn't getting anywhere, Rudy," Burke said. "They aren't going to help us. We should just beam them down once Noah and his team get back. Let them have some kind of beacon to get _Voyager's_ attention. Every second they spend rescuing their people is another second we can get out ahead of them."

Ransom sighed. "Yeah, you're right Max," he said. "Doctor, heal your friend. Sadly, you're still stuck with us, but-"

"Bridge to Captain Ransom!" a panicked sounding voice said over the comm.

"What is it, James?" Ransom said.

"Long range sensors have picked up _Voyager_. They'll be here in just under three hours."

* * *

Tuvok and Lydia Anderson watched the two crewmen from the _Equinox_ , Noah Lessing and Angelo Tassoni, as they walked through the woods on the planet that astrometrics had determined was their location. With the _Delta Flyer_ safely in orbit, operating under low power and successfully having escaped the _Equinox's_ detection, Tuvok had time to make sure that the two targets were alone to ensure a successful capture.

"You know," Lessing said to Tassoni. "this place reminds me of McKinley Park. I used to take my sister there when we were kids. This place looks just like it. As I recall, there was a family of ground squirrels who lived right over there."

"Noah, you know this place isn't literally McKinley Park, right?"

"Let me have my moment, Angelo," Lessing said.

"Right, sorry."

Tuvok stood up, and fired,. The stun blast striking Lessing in the chest, while Anderson's phaser struck Tossani in the back.

"Tuvok to _Delta Flyer_ , four to beam up."

* * *

"Ransom to away team," Captain Ransom said for the third time, too nervous to sit down, shifting in place on the bridge. "Dammit Noah, where are you?"

"Still no response sir," James Morrow, the officer who had contacted him in sickbay earlier, said. "I can't find their comm badge signals either."

"Janeway must've gotten them somehow," Burke said.

"How?" Ransom said. "They're still two hours away, well outside transport range."

"It's the only other explanation," Burke said, "apart from the local wildlife killing them and somehow destroying their badges."

"Dammit," Ransom said. "Looks like we'll have to scrap the leaving our prisoners behind plan Max. We might be able to use the _Voyager_ people as hostages if it comes to that. Grab Marla and get her to engineering. We need that plasma conduit fixed ASAP."

"In the meantime," Burke said. "I think we should go to battle stations. Just to be safe."

Ransom doubted that Janeway would open fire on them right away, that she would at least try to negotiate and get her people back, but he couldn't afford to take that chance.

"Go to Red Alert," Ransom said. He sat down in the Captain's chair, and stared at the stars that filled the viewscreen.

* * *

Tom and Tuvok immediately took their places on the bridge after returning from the planet. So far the two Equinox crewmen they'd captured hadn't talked, but Janeway was planning to save the interrogation for later. She had a plan for that, one she knew Chakotay wouldn't co-sign even as a bluff, but she wasn't going to worry about that just yet.

 _Especially since we won't need it if we can disable the Equinox_ , she thought.

"Thirty-thousand kilometers and closing," Tom said.

"Tuvok," Janeway said, "target their power core."

"Understood," Tuvok said. Seconds later, the viewscreen showed their phasers striking the _Equinox's_ shields. "Their shields are holding."

"Bridge to Torres," Chakotay said. "Can you locate the multiphasic shield generator?"

"I'm trying," B'Elanna said, responding from astrometrics instead of engineering as per Janeway's orders. "Can you get me more power for the sensors?"

"Stand by," Chakotay said.

"The _Equinox_ is returning fire," Tuvok said. The ship shuddered.

 _Damn, how'd they get their phaser back up to full strength that fast?_ Janeway thought.

"The deflector array suffered a direct hit," Tuvok said. "if the shields fail-"

"The aliens will attack again," Janeway said. "I know. Target his weapons array."

"Firing," Tuvok said. "their phaser banks have suffered heavy damage, but they are still able to fire-"

The ship shuddered again as a full spread of photon torpedoes from the _Equinox_ struck _Voyager_.

"Shields are weakening," Tuvok said.

'Keep targeting their weapons," Janeway said. "One more torpedo ought to do it. Fire."

The viewscreen showed the torpedo strike the _Equinox_ , it's shields flickering violently, sparks ejecting from parts of the hull.

"Their weapons systems are down," Tuvok said.

"Hail them" Janeway said.

"Channel open," Harry said.

"Janeway to Ransom. Surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded."

There was no response. Janeway prepared to repeat herself, but then the viewscreen showed the _Equinox_ doing something she did not expect; it headed towards the atmosphere of the planet.

 _Is he crazy?_ she thought. _With their shields weakened they risk burning up._

"Follow him," Janeway said. "Get as close as you can."

"Yes ma'am," Tom said.

"Captain," Harry said, 'they're about to go to warp."

"In an atmosphere?" Janeway said. "That's practically suicide!"

"Captain if we're too close-" Tom started to say, but janeway knew where he was going.

"Back us off," she said. She looked at the viewscreen, and watched as the Equinox jumped into warp from inside the atmosphere of the planet. She mentally added the large percentage of animals on the planet to the list of Ransom's victims as the air over the largest continent on the planet, as well as part of the smaller ones, ignited. The other side of the globe, for the most part, would be unaffected, but the damage to the ecosystem would be severe.

"Did they make it?" she said.

"No sign of starship debris," Harry said. "but I'm having trouble finding their warp trail due to the interference from the igniting atmosphere."

"Dammit," Janeway said. "We need to find out where Ransom might go next. Tuvok, have security bring Noah Lessing to cargo bay 1, and tell them to keep him restrained until I get there."

"Do you think he'll tell us where Ransom is likely to go next?" Chakotay said.

"I sure as hell hope so," Janeway said. "For his sake."

* * *

Chakotay followed Janeway into the cargo bay to the odd sight of a man in a Starfleet uniform cuffed to a chair. Off to Noah Lessing's side was the table they had set up the last time they attempted to contact the aliens attacking _Voyager_. The summoning device was still on it. Chakotay had a feeling that it wasn't simply a case of the device not being stored after it's last use.

 _She better not be doing what I think she's going to be doing_ , he thought. _I don't want to have to choose between my Captain and my conscience.  
_

Janeway walked in a slow circle around Lessing, the latter looking straight ahead. Chakotay half expected him to just start repeating his name, rank, and serial number.

"I want Ransom's tactical status," Janeway said. "Now, Mister Lessing."

"Or what?" Lessing said. "You'll hit me?"

"No, crewman, I'll drop the shields around this room, and let the Ankari's 'spirits of good fortune' pay you a visit."

"That would be murder," Lessing said.

"You could also call it 'poetic justice.' Or maybe even a peace offering. We've already proven that the aliens can be communicated with. Giving up a member of the crew who has been massacring them for fuel could be the first step in opening up a dialogue that stops them from destroying my ship."

Lessing turned to face Chakotay, sweat appearing on his brow. "I suppose this is the part where you come to my rescue, right?"

"Not as far as I know," Chakotay said, hoping that his own concern wasn't betrayed by his face. As short a time ago as several days, he wouldn't have believed for a second that Janeway would seriously allow anything like what she was suggesting to happen. Today, he merely hoped that she was bluffing.

Janeway stopped walking and put her hands on Lessing's shoulders, staring him directly in the eyes. "Ransom's status," she said. "Now."

"Not a chance," Lessing said.

"The com is active," Janeway said, stepping back, but not breaking eye contact. "We'll be listening in case you have a change of heart." She reached over, and activated the Ankari summoning device, and headed for the door. Chakotay followed her, and once they were both outside, he brought up his concerns in a less tactful way than he'd intended.

"What the hell are you doing?" he said, growing increasingly nervous as Janeway began pressing buttons on the console next to the cargo bay door.

"Dropping the shields around that room," she said. The open comm channel began emitting the now-familiar noise of imminent attack.

"Tuvok to Janeway, shields are down in your sector."

"I know," Janeway said, "stand by."

"Please don't do this," Chakotay said. Janeway looked at him, her expression so frighteningly blank that Chakotay almost missed the next thing she said.

"This is the part where where you come to his rescue," she said.

Chakotay wasted no time. He pulled out his phaser and headed back into the cargo bay, A fissure had already opened high above Lessing's head. Chakotay fired into it twice, causing it to close. He grabbed Lessing's arm, and pulled him out of the chair, walking him to the exit. Once he had the crewman out in the corridor, where the shields were still up, he turned Lessing around to face him, and pushed him up against the bulkhead, pressing the tip of his phaser to Lessing's nose.

"Okay," Chakotay said. "You've demonstrated your loyalty to your Captain. Fine. Except what just happened in there, how you felt? Think about that. Think about how that feeling was what the people on this ship felt when you left us to die."

Lessing, shaking now, as well as sweating, sighed.

"He'll be looking for another M-class planet with plant matter that can be converted into food," he said. "What Angelo and I had gathered got dropped when your people ambushed us. All he'll have left is rations."

Janeway nodded, and walked away. Had she not explicitly told Chakotay to save Lessing in the first place, he would think that she was angry with him, the way she looked as she walked past them without saying anything.

* * *

Captain Janeway held the PADD that Harry Kim had given her as she rode in the turbolift. It was good news, even if she wasn't feeling very good about it at that moment. They finally found a way to patch the aliens through the universal translator. That would make talking with them easier. The challenge would be getting them to listen long enough.

"Captain?" Chakotay said. It had been the first time he'd spoken to her since Noah Lessing's interrogation earlier that day.

"I don't know if I'm the best person to do this right now," she said. "To make this attempt to communicate with them again, I mean."

"If you're worried that your anger towards Ransom has clouded your judgement-"

"It has, Chakotay," she said.

"You were clear headed enough to come up with that plan to get Lessing to talk," Chakotay said.

"I caved," Janeway said, admitting it to herself as much as to her first officer. "Right up to the moment I told you to get him, I was ready to let him die if he didn't break. I told you that Ransom seemed to be bringing out the worst in people out here in the Delta Quadrant. That includes me."

Chakotay took in a deep breath. "I was hoping I was wrong about that," he said. "In the end, you did still do the right thing. You didn't allow Lessing to die."

"Does it matter?"

"That's not really my place to say. That has to be between you and your conscience. But for what it's worth, I think this does make you the best person to talk to the aliens. I can't compare the scale of loss, there's no question they've suffered worse because of Ransom than we have. But we have both suffered. Use that."

Janeway let a short, bitter laugh. "I always thought diplomacy was about finding common ground, not common grievances," she said.

"To-may-to, to-mah-to," Chakotay said.

Janeway looked at the PADD again, and exited the turbolift, heading once again for cargo bay 1. Tuvok and Lieutenant Ayala were there, but she refused to let them follow her in. She removed her phaser from it's holster and put it on the table, next to the summoning device.

"I'd suggest you wait outside," she said. Chakotay shook his head as he removed his phaser as well.

"Not a chance," he said.

"Very well. Let's hope this works then," Janeway said. "I don't think Tuvok would forgive us if we ended up dropping command in his lap again."

"He did okay last time," Chakotay said.

"Even so, it's not something he ever really wanted," Janeway said, activating the summoning device, again, and hoping that this time would be worth it. The screeching tone started up almost immediately, and a pair of fissures opened, one across from the other with a meter or so of space between them. A pair of aliens came out of one, hovered briefly to look at her and Chakotay, and flew into the other.

"You can see that we're unarmed," she said. "we want to talk to you."

"We want you to die," a synthesized voice said in time with the screeching.

"A difficult place to start a negotiation from," Chakotay said.

"We didn't do this to you," Janeway said to the fissures, "We're trying to stop those like us who did. The leader of the other vessel, Ransom, he killed your people, and he has taken several of mine hostage. I want them back, but I can't mount a proper rescue while you're attacking us."

"We do not believe you would harm your own kind," the voice said.

"You've seen that my people are capable of harming each other. Ransom stole a device we had devised to protect us from your attacks and left us behind. He allowed members of my crew to die so he could avoid punishment for what he did to you."

"Give us the _Equinox_. We want to destroy those that are responsible."

"You can have the ship," Janeway said. "It has the only working version of the device that was used to turn your species into fuel. Destroy it, and Ransom won't be able to hurt you anymore. I only ask of you that you let me take the crew prisoner."

"No. Only your people on the _Equinox_ will be spared."

"We can't allow that," Chakotay said. "but I promise you they will be punished. They will lose their freedom."

The shrieking noise got louder, but no words came, and Janeway knew what she had to do.

"Alright," she said, moving closer to the fissures. "Ransom is the Captain of that vessel. He is the one ultimately responsible for what happened to your species. You can have the _Equinox_ , and you can have him. You have the advantage here, my ship cannot defend itself indefinitely against your attacks, I know I am no position to bargain, but I ask of you anyway, show mercy to the rest of his crew."

"Captain?" Chakotay said. She could hear in his voice the disappointment, but she hoped he would understand why she was making this call. She also hoped he would understand that this was their best chance. If the aliens refused this compromise, her only options left would be to allow all the _Equinox_ survivors to die, or to make herself a permanent enemy of these aliens that had already shown they could kill her people with ease and would not stop until they had killed everyone.

Janeway spread her arms out and closed her eyes. "That is my final offer," she said. "Ransom and his ship, in exchange for his crew, and a cessation of attacks on _Voyager_."  
Several more aliens flew back and forth between the two fissures. The tone got softer, but didn't go away.

 _They're deliberating_ , she thought. _Let's hope that they're not only democratic, but that the majority would be on our side_.

"You can have any survivors," the voice said. "but anyone who tries to protect Ransom will be killed."

"Understood," Janeway said. "Thank you. And for what it's worth, I am sorry your first contact with my government was under such dark circumstances. I assure you, Ransom's behavior is atypical of my kind."

The fissures closed, and the noise stopped. Either they hadn't heard what she said, or they didn't care. If it was the latter, she had to admit she couldn't blame them. She heard Chakotay step closer to her.

"Don't say it," she said. "giving up Ransom to save my crew makes me no better than him, right? Was that what you were going to say?"

"No," Chakotay said. "I was going to say you did the best you could. If anything, I think we did better than I'd hoped. I knew we'd have to give up something to protect our ship and get our kidnapped people back. Having a second ship might've come in handy, and I still would rather see Ransom in prison than dead, but…"

"The only happy ending this story is going to have," Janeway said, "is when Seven of Nine and Samantha Wildman are in each other's arms, and when our EMH gets his sickbay back from that holographic mad scientist we're stuck with right now."

"That reminds me," Chakotay said, "what do we do with him when we have our Doctor back?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Janeway said, turning off the summoning device before picking up her phaser.

* * *

"Miss Gilmore," the Doctor said, "would you take any great offense if I disparaged your ship's sickbay?"

"Not really, no," Ensign Gilmore said.

"Good. Because I am honestly beginning to hate this place."

"I think that fact that it's doubling as our prison cell right now has a lot to do with that," Joe Carey said.

"No, no, it's not that," the Doctor said.

"Your point?" Seven said, rubbing her neck.

"It's just badly designed," the Doctor said. "The main console obstructs the path to the surgical bay for starters."

"You can write a letter to Starfleet Command when we get home," Gilmore said. "If we get home," she added.

"I choose to take the fact that he has not killed us yet as a sign that Captain Ransom is not completely beyond redemption," the Doctor said, looking at Marla Gilmore and his two _Voyager_ crewmates, all of whom stared at him, blinking. He rolled his eyes.

"I simply mean that he won't kill us before we get to the Alpha Quadrant," he said.

"That's not what I meant," Gilmore said. "The enhanced warp drive is useless if we can't fuel it, and we can't get any lifeforms to fuel it without the summoning device."

"That or risking death by lowering the shields and using the bodies of any aliens that get shot before they can re-enter their fissures," Carey said.

"I doubt even Rudy would get that desperate," Gilmore said.

"Burke might," Seven said. The Doctor understood what she meant by that, and nodded his agreement.

"I understand B'Elanna used to date him during her time at Starfleet Academy," he said. "All the amazing things she's done aboard _Voyager_ , yet one could argue her breaking up with him was the smartest thing she ever did. Mister Burke does seem to be far less emotionally stable than Captain Ransom. I worry that if something were to happen to Ransom before Captain Janeway could rescue us, we, well, the three of you would be lucky to just be put off-ship."

"I wish I shared your optimism," Seven said. "If the Captain wasn't able to disable this ship during the last encounter-"

"To be fair," Carey said, "I doubt she saw Ransom going to warp in an atmosphere coming. Hell, we're lucky to be alive ourselves after that one."

"I'm just glad there weren't any sentients on that planet," Gilmore said. "Those poor animals though-"

The red alert klaxons started, cutting Gilmore off.

"Oh, what now?" the Doctor said.

* * *

"It's them?" Ransom said, not sure what to make of what the viewscreen was telling him.

"Yes sir," Burke said, confirming it. "The aliens are attacking us again."

"First time since their last attack failed," Ransom said. "since we stole the generator from _Voyager_. Why now? Are they getting through?"

"No," Burke said, sounding confused as he looked at his console. "In fact, this is just bizarre, it's like they aren't even trying. They are striking at the shields, but in small numbers, at comparatively wide intervals. They wouldn't have been able to hurt out normal shields with attacks like these."

Ransom had a thought about what they were doing. He didn't want to believe it, but he remembered how sure he was Marla Gilmore wouldn't betray him.

"Is there any sort of pattern to the attacks?" he said. Burke looked at him, tilting his head.

"What sort of pattern would you want me to look for?" he said.

Ransom shrugged. "No idea," he said. "Just a hunch."

Burke returned to his console and began pressing buttons, calling up data on screen adjacent to the primary one he'd been using. "None that I can see," he said. "but I'm even more confused now. This attack is just so half-hearted, it doesn't make any sense."

"Janeway has something to do with this," Ransom said. "I don't know how, or for what purpose, but-"

"Captain!" Jason Prochnow yelled from the back of the bridge. " _Voyager's_ found us again!"

"Recon," Burke said. "Somehow she got the aliens who have been killing us to do recon for her."

"Have you forgotten already, Max?" Ransom said. "We started this when we killed these creatures for fuel. This has always been about revenge, and now they've gotten Janeway to help them, somehow. I wonder what she had to sacrifice to save her crew. Whatever it was, I hope it keeps her up at night, like mine have."

"Rudy?" Burke said.

"Can we go to warp yet?" Ransom said. Burke shook his head.

"The prisoners were dragging their heels repairing the damage they'd done, so I locked them in sickbay. The plan was to-"

"It doesn't matter," Ransom said, sighing. "It's over. James?"

"Sir?" James Morrow said.

"Hail _Voyager_. Tell them we surrender."

"No," Burke said, taking out his phaser and pointing it at Ransom. "Don't you understand? The minute we lower our shields for _Voyager_ , the aliens will slaughter us all. Janeway sold us out. I won't let you help her kill us all. Not after you promised to get us home.

"Brian?" Burke said to Brian Sofin, one of the few surviving security officers the _Equinox_ still had. "Take the Captain to sickbay, and lock him in with Marla and the others."

"No, Max," James Morrow said, "the Captain's right. If we fight now, we're dead. We should just turn ourselves over to-"

"No!" Burke yelled. "No, we are not going to fall into Janeway's trap. You can join Rudy in confinement if you're that sure."

Sofin, who had already taken Ransom's phaser and comm badge, now did the same to Morrow, handing both phasers and badges over to Jason Prochnow.

"Come with me," he said. "Commander's orders." Ransom thought he heard a hint of sadness in Brian Sofin's voice. He would wait until they were off the bridge to do so, but he believed he could win the guard over to his side.

"Okay, Max," Ransom said. "I'll go. For now. Once you realize your mistake, if it's not too late, contact me in sickbay."

Burke didn't respond. He simply motioned with his phaser towards the turbolift. Ransom and Morrow went in first, Sofin immediately behind.

* * *

As the image of the _Equinox_ grew larger on the viewscreen, Captain Janeway pushed a button on the console on the arm of her chair, opening a channel to the astrometrics lab.

"B'Elanna," she said, "can you tell me where our people are?"

"Thanks to her Borg tech I can tell you where Seven of Nine is," B'Elanna said. "She's in the _Equinox_ sickbay according to the schematics. She's in there with two other lifeforms, human."

"None of the _Equinox's_ non-human crew survived, so that's more vague than I'd like," Janeway said.

"Without comm badges to work with," B'Elanna said, "there's only so much certainty I can give you."

"Captain," Harry said, "we're close enough, I can send a transmission directly to Seven through her Borg implants."

"Like we did when we were rescuing her from the Unicomplex," Tom said. "Why didn't we think of that before now?"

"We weren't close enough for the transmission to get through before now," Janeway said. "Hopefully she can find a way to reply to us. Tell her about the deal we made with the aliens."

"Understood," Harry said.

"Captain," Tuvok said, "the _Equinox_ is coming about. I believe they intend to open fire on us."

"If Ransom wants a fight," Janeway said, "we'll give it to them. Phasers only. Disable the ship, find a way to beam off everyone who isn't Ransom, then get us out of here."  
Apart from the standard acknowledgements, the _Voyager_ bridge was quiet. The majority of the senior staff had made their varying degrees of disapproval of Janeway's concession to the aliens known, with only B'Elanna supporting her entirely. That said though, not one of them showed any sign of doing anything to risk undermining the agreement.

 _I keep telling myself this is not the same as Ransom giving the order to start killing those aliens for fuel,_ she thought. _Maybe Starfleet Command will agree with me when we get home. That doesn't make this any easier though._

The viewscreen showed the _Equinox_ opening fire with a volley of torpedoes.

"Return fire," Janeway said.

"Captain," Harry said, "the _Equinox_ EMH is attempting to open a secure channel."

"Let him," Janeway said, "but listen in. We didn't tell him about the deal, but there's a chance he might've heard about it anyway. Don't cut him off unless it looks like he knows. Did you get the message to Seven?"

"It's sent, but she may not be able to reply," Harry said.

* * *

"Doctor to _Equinox_ , can you hear me?" the EMH's voice whispered over the comm channel.

"Burke here. We hear you."

"I am attempting to transmit _Voyager's_ current shield frequency to you, but it will need to be heavily encrypted," the EMH said. "I've been compromised, they know I'm not their doctor, but with any luck this message will look like background subspace noise."

"Thank you doctor," Burke said. "Hopefully we can make _Voyager_ back off. I'd hate to risk destroying you."

"Whatever it takes to get the crew home, Commander," the EMH said, static nearly drowning out the last few words.

"Prochnow?"

"The transmission is starting to come through sir. _Voyager's_ shield frequency is at, at, oh no."

"Jason? What is it?"

"The EMH got one lousy number to us before _Voyager_ cut him off!"

"Dammit," Burke said through gritted teeth, pounding his fist into the arm of the Captain's chair.

* * *

The _Equinox_ sickbay was far too crowded for Seven of Nine's comfort, and the shuddering caused by the impact of phaser fire wasn't helping matters. Captain Ransom, as well as two more _Equinox_ crew members, were standing by her, Carey, Gilmore, and the Doctor.

While Ransom was talking the armed man, Brian Sofin, into giving up his phaser, Seven quietly filled in the Doctor about the message she had received from Harry Kim, leaving out the part about Ransom being turned over to the aliens, fearing that the Doctor would try to stop that from happening. She did not feel he would be wrong for wanting to do so, but she also understood why Captain Janeway had made the agreement she did, and also that the decision would weigh on her conscience heavily, possibly for the rest of her life. The least Seven could do was keep things from getting more complicated than they needed to be.

"Okay," Ransom said, now holding Sofin's phaser in his own hand. "We need to get down to engineering. Seven, I'll need you to help me take control of the ship from there. We'll lower the shields and Janeway can beam us off."

"What about me?" the Doctor said. "How exactly am I supposed to get back?"

"I can temporarily house your program inside myself," Seven said. "I believe I can extract it from the _Equinox's_ databanks using my assimilation tubules."

The Doctor looked concerned. "You believe?" he said. "As in, you aren't one-hundred percent sure."

"As I have never attempted to download a sentient hologram before, no, I can't be certain, but as it would only be temporary certain safety precautions can be temporarily ignored."

"I can help with that," Carey said.

"Thank you," Seven said. "We should start on that immediately."

"Don't take too long," Ransom said. "I'll meet you in engineering. Brian, James, get to the multiphasic shield generator. On my signal, drop the field around everywhere except yourselves, engineering, and the bridge."

"Yes sir," Sofin, the only one of them with a working com badge, said.

"What do you want me to do?" Marla Gilmore said.

"Find enough com badges for all of us," Ransom said, "so that Janeway's people will have something to lock onto. Get them to everyone, and then join Brian and James."

"Got it," Gilmore said. Soon, she, Sofin, and Morrow were out of sickbay.

"Captain," Seven said, "if you don't mind my asking-"

"Why the change of heart?" Ransom said. "I didn't change my mind, not really. I simply had no choice left. _Voyager_ has the summoning device and is faster and better armed than us, and you and Mister Carey wrecked the warp drive. I made a promise to get my crew home, and I don't regret anything I did to keep that promise. I am simply accepting that circumstances prevent me from finishing what I started."

"Fair enough," Seven said. She still did not approve of what Ransom had done, but she also knew that without having experienced his life since coming to the Delta Quadrant, she could not honestly say that she wouldn't have succumbed to the temptation to set aside her own principles and morality if it meant protecting people she cared about. Ransom left sickbay, leaving her, Carey, and the Doctor alone. She decided that once the Doctor's program was inside her, she wouldn't tell Carey about Janeway's deal with the aliens either. That would be her difficult moral decision for the day, to deny two decent men the opportunity to find another way.

"Seven," the Doctor said, shifting nervously, "just so you know, it might be best that you not tell Samantha about this."

Seven raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

* * *

"The port nacelle's been badly damaged," Prochnow said. "We're venting plasma."

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Burke said. "Can anything go right for us right now?" As if to spite him personally, the consoles on the bridge began to flicker.

"Sir," the ensign who had taken Burke's place at the helm when Burke took the Captain's chair said, "controls have been rerouted to engineering."

"What? How?"

"It's Captain Ransom sir. He's using his access codes."

"Shit, I didn't think to change them," Burke said. "Jason, get down to engineering. Try to-"

Burke's command was cut off by an all-too familiar noise. "Arm yourselves!" he yelled reflexively.

"Sir," Prochnow said, "the multiphasic shield is still up around the bridge, we're protected, but we also can't leave."

"No, not like this," Burke said. "Everyone, on me. Keep your phasers up. We'll risk the trip to engineering. Stay close and keep your eyes open for fissures."

Burke didn't hear any affirmatives. He looked around, saw prochnow and the other two crew members on the bridge just staring at him, fear on their faces.

"That was an order people," Burke shouted. "Move!" It was the last order he would ever give, and the last that the crew members who followed them would ever follow, as all of them were swarmed as soon as they exited the turbolift onto the engineering deck.

* * *

Seven of Nine had gotten to engineering before Ransom had given the signal to Sofin. She and the Captain were alone, Marla having joined Carey and the others at the shield generator.

 _Good,_ Seven thought. _I wouldn't want them to see what I have to do._

"I've got full control down here," Ransom said. "I'm getting ready to lower the shields so Janeway can beam us off, but we need to get them to stop firing first."

The ship shuddered from a weapon's impact, as if to emphasize Ransom's point.

"Can you access communications from down here?" Seven said.

"I can, the problem seems to be the monitors are still in bad shape from when you blew up that plasma conduit. Burke didn't focus on repairing them because he, understandably, didn't plan for anybody to be hailing other ships from down here."

The ship shuddered again.

"Why not simply lower the shields now?" Seven said.

"If I lower them while Captain Janeway is still firing, and if my timing is just bad enough, I could end up getting us all killed before she can beam the crew off."

Seven was about to make the case for taking the risk anyway, but the ship shuddered again, far more violently this time, the way it would when there was a hull breach. Ransom frantically called up a damage report on another monitor.

"It's not near the generator," he said. "Marla and the others are safe. Shields are down."

Seven tapped her comm badge. "Seven of Nine to _Voyager_ , can you hear me?"

"We got you Seven," Janeway's voice said. "We're getting transport locks now. Is Ransom there?"

"He is Captain," Seven said. "We are currently alone in engineering."

"Does he know?" Janeway said.

"Know what?" Ransom said.

Seven sighed as she reached out and yanked the comm badge off Ransom's uniform, and pointed a phaser at him.

"What the hell?"

"I am sorry," Seven said. "It was part of the arrangement with the aliens to get them to stop attacking _Voyager_. The rest of your crew will be safe though. The deal was only for you personally, and the ship. Seven to _Voyager_ , lock on to all comm badge signals and energize."

Seven was surprised to see, as the sensation of a transporter beam enveloped her, Ransom actually laughing.

"I suppose I had this coming," he said, "didn't I?"

Seven didn't know how to answer, and even if she did, she wouldn't have been able to say it anyway, as the transporter beam took her off the _Equinox_. Her last conscious thought before appearing on the transport pad on board _Voyager_ was how, even with all the crew members he'd lost to the aliens, he still believed that he had made the right choice.

 _Conviction, or delusion?_ she thought, as she stepped off the pad.

"Hey, Seven," Ensign Mulcahey said.

"Hello, Todd," Seven said, too morally conflicted to bother with formalities.

* * *

"Well, I see you made yourself at home," the Doctor said to the _Equinox_ EMH.

"What are you doing here?" the latter hologram said, standing up from the Doctor's chair in his office.

"Taking back _my_ sickbay," the Doctor said, affixing his mobile emitter to his arm. "As for you, I'm taking you off-line until we can decide how to deal with you."

"Like hell," the _Equinox_ EMH said. "You're just going to delete me."

"I don't intend to do that," the Doctor said. "Unless you force my hand. Back away from the console."

"No!" the EMH yelled. "I've already failed my crew, I won't be executed by the likes of you, a hologram made soft with idle chatter and frivolous pursuits. Your ethics have held you back from doing what needs to be done to help your crew get home."

"You're ranting," the Doctor said. "And possibly delusional, but we have learned a lot about photonic life in our time out here in the Delta Quadrant. With proper treatment you could become my assistant. This ship could always use an extra doctor."

The EMH shook his head. "Go to hell," he said. "Because that's where this ship will be going if you keep acting as though intangibles like principles matter. Your captain has failed you."

The EMH began manipulating controls on the console. The Doctor moved forward to stop whatever he was doing, but the _Equinox_ EMH vanished. The Doctor sat down in his chair, and looked at the screen.

 _He deleted himself,_ he thought, _rather than serve aboard this ship. I don't understand._

The Doctor leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling of his sickbay. "I don't understand," he repeated aloud.

* * *

Janeway watched on the viewscreen as the _Equinox_ drifted further and further away, green plasma smoke venting out it's broken nacelle.

"The aliens have started attacking the warp core," Harry said. "No lifesigns are left aboard."

"Our own shields?" she said.

"All damage sustained came from the _Equinox_ , Captain," Tuvok said. "It would appear the aliens have kept their promise."

"Mister Paris, keep us a safe distance away."

"Yes ma'am," Tom said.

Janeway stood up and moved over to stand just behind Tom, staring at the viewscreen. The bridge was silent, everyone watching as the Nova-class starship, the first Starfleet vessel not from the distant past or distant future any of them had seen up close in five years, exploded. She was surprised at how sad she felt watching the _Equinox_ fly apart in flames that were quickly snuffed out by vacuum, given that just minutes ago that same ship had attacked hers.

"There but for the grace of God go I," she muttered.

"Captain?" Tom said.

"I was just thinking," Janeway said. "about something Ransom said. About how easy it is to talk about Starfleet principles when you have intact bulkheads and a well fed crew. We've had our dark days out here, sure. But I think that maybe, every once in awhile, we should stop and remind ourselves just how good we really do have it."

* * *

"You know," Samantha Wildman said, taking in deep breaths as she readjusted her pillows, "it occurs to me that if Naomi had seen that, she might've thought we were attacking each other."

Seven of Nine laughed.

"I apologize if I was overly aggressive," she said.

"No apology needed," Samantha said, running a finger along Seven's spine. "I'm just glad to have you back."

"And I am glad to be back," Seven said. "Being at the mercy of a Starfleet Captain who has fallen from grace is less fun when you're not there."

"So, who would you say was worse? Ransom, or Archer?"

"That would depend on what measure you would have me compare them by," Seven said.

"I'll have to think about that one," Samantha said.

"I'd much rather you think about what I suggested earlier this evening before we got, distracted," Seven said. Even though Samantha couldn't see Seven's face from the angle she was currently lying down in, she somehow just knew that Seven was smiling.

"I would've thought my answer was obvious, given how I reacted to the question," Samantha said, laughing.

"Good point," Seven said. "I'll talk to the Captain about the ceremony in the morning."

Samantha put her arm around Seven and pulled her closer. She knew that something had happened to Seven on board the _Equinox_ that she didn't want to talk about, for whatever reason. Whatever it was though, Samantha trusted that Seven would tell her someday. Until that day came, if it came, she wasn't going to push the matter.

"Sam?" Seven said.

"Yeah?" Samantha said.

"Is there anything you can think of, any situation where you'd rather I leave you behind than do what needs to be done to save you?"

Samantha knew where this was coming from, and she sighed. "I think that you are smart enough to know where the line is, and that you wouldn't cross it, not even for me. And that's not a bad thing."

"I suppose," Seven said. "I guess I won't know unless such a scenario presents itself, which I am hopeful will never happen."

* * *

Captain Janeway, Tuvok standing to her left, and Chakotay behind her, looked at the five humans standing in a row in front of her in _Voyager's_ briefing room. Five people left, out of the eighty that the _Equinox_ had left Mars orbit with. That morbid fact tempered Janeway's anger somewhat, but not enough to completely erase the reality that these five people had taken part in actions that had gotten two of her own people killed, as well as dozens injured. Had they not been able to communicate with the aliens, had Janeway not ignored her own conscience to offer up Captain Ransom as, for all intents and purposes, a human sacrifice, it wouldn't have stopped at two. Kenneth Dalby and Timothy Lang would merely have been the first of many.

She pushed those thoughts out of her head, and focused on the _Equinox_ survivors.

"The last time we welcomed you aboard," she said, "you took advantage of our trust. You betrayed this crew. I won't make that mistake again."

Janeway walked up to each person, and going from left to right removed every single rank pip from every single collar. She handed them to Tuvok.

"Noah Lessing. Marla Gilmore. James Morrow. Brian Sofin. Angelo Tassoni. You are all hereby stripped of rank," she continued. "You will serve as crewmen aboard this vessel. Your privileges will be limited. No holodeck time. No flight hours in the _Delta Flyer_. No away missions. No phasers unless we are boarded. You'll serve under close supervision for as long as I deem fit. This time, you'll have to earn our trust."

Janeway let out a sad sigh. "Dismissed," she said. All five humans filed out quietly, Tuvok following them out. Chakotay moved up to stand by Janeway's side.

"I hope you don't think you were too hard on them," Chakotay said.

"Can you blame me?" she said. "When I brought you and the rest of your Maquis crew aboard-"

"That was different," Chakotay said. "My people, whatever you thought of us, saw ourselves as freedom fighters, pushing back against Cardassian aggression. The _Equinox_ crew murdered aliens for resources and threw us under the bus. That's not comparing apples to oranges, Kathryn, that's comparing apples to onions."

Janeway decided he had a point, and chose to change the topic. "Repairs?" she said.

"Coming along," he said.

"Good," Janeway said. "The crew?"

"A lot of frayed nerves, and a lot of justifiable anger. I'm making sure to arrange the _Equinox_ survivor's duty rosters to keep them as far away from the people who were closest to either Dalby or Lang, just to be safe."

"I hear Neelix is organizing a potluck," Janeway said, leaving the briefing room and stepping out onto the bridge, "to try and boost morale."

"Will you be there?" Chakotay said.

Janeway looked around. Under the brighter non-emergency lighting the damage that had been done both by the aliens and by the _Equinox_ was more visible.

"I don't want to," she admitted, "but I probably should."

Chakotay smiled. "I'll bring the salad," he said.

 **Chapter Two**

Although she'd been at several weddings in her life, Captain Janeway had never officiated over one before. She knew the routine fairly well, having heard the standard speech given by Captains before. She'd even heard Tom Paris's father give the speech once, but now it was her time to do this, and she had to admit she was excited. There was also a fear that she would somehow mess it up, but it was a small fear, easily pushed aside until the ceremony was over and she could breathe a sigh of relief that nothing went wrong for Samantha Wildman and Seven of Nine.

What she couldn't help but find bizarre about the situation though was where the ceremony was to be held. She'd assumed it would take place in the mess hall, since that's where such events were usually held on a starship, even if _Voyager_ 's mess hall was actually a post-launch addition to the ship, converted by Neelix from what had been the Captain's private dining room. Even getting married on the holodeck wasn't unusual. But instead, the ceremony was to be held in front of the wall of Borg alcoves in cargo bay 2.

"That is where my journey began," Seven had said earlier that day when she and Samantha had come to her ready room to tell her their plans. "That's the room I was in when I first realized I was no longer a drone, when I started to become human."

When Janeway had suggested the mess hall, Samantha had chimed in with, "Hey, at least it's not in the turbolift where we first met."

Another unexpected choice was to have Marla Gilmore as a guest. Janeway knew of course that Gilmore had been the one to help Seven of Nine and Joe Carey escape their confinement, but she had had also been partially responsible for their capture in the first place. Perhaps Seven felt she owed Gilmore, despite that.

Janeway pushed those thought aside though once she reached cargo bay 2, making sure her dress uniform was as straight as possible as she stepped inside. Seven and Samantha were already there, both of them wearing their standard uniforms. Naomi was there of course, talking to her mother. Marla Gilmore wore civilian clothing, as did Neelix who was standing guard over the cake Samantha had asked for as though he expected some armed men to come and try and take it. Harry Kim had his own dress uniform on and was talking to Gilmore and Seven.

"I'm not late am I?" the Captain said, smiling. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face her.

"Not at all Captain," Samantha said. "In fact I think you're early."

"Good," Janeway said. She'd actually known she wasn't late, but didn't feel like announcing her presence in any formal fashion. The dress uniform was formal enough for her as far as she was concerned.

Samantha and Seven, wearing their uniforms instead of anything more formal or traditional, shared a look. The later smiled and nodded at the former.

"Since everyone's here," Samantha said, "I suppose we could start early. Would that be alright Captain?"

"Of course," Janeway said. Seven got to work letting everyone know that the ceremony was about to start, and soon every one was standing at attention, except for Seven and Sam who held each other's hands, and Janeway who stood in front of both of them.

The music of the couple's choice, selections from a ballet called _Coppelia,_ began playing while Janeway began the standard captain's wedding speech.

"Since the days of the first wooden sailing ships," she said, "all captains have enjoyed the happy privilege of joining together two people in the bonds of matrimony."

"There is actually considerable disagreement amongst historians about that," Seven said. Samantha laughed, as everyone else in the room tried not to.

"Honey, let her finish," she said, trying to stifle her giggling.

"Sorry," Seven said, looking genuinely apologetic. "That just sort of slipped out."

Janeway grinned and shook her head. "It's probably just nerves Seven, don't worry about it. Anyway, as I was saying, it is my honour to unite you, Annika Hansen, and you, Samantha Wildman, together in matrimony."

The rest of the speech continued on without any further pedantic interruptions. When it came time for the vows, Samantha went with the standards, ones based on western religious traditions on Earth that had over the centuries become increasingly secular and common amongst people from all backgrounds, even amongst non-humans. Seven, on the other hand, had prepared her own.

"Throughout the past few years, I have often had people comment on my bravery for one reason or another. But they are wrong, because when it came time to pursue the thing that would have the greatest effect on my life after leaving the Borg collective, I stayed silent. I had feelings for you, but out of fear of failure I kept it to myself. Even when others," Seven glanced at Harry Kim, "could see it and told me to take the chance, I did nothing.

"I didn't have the words for it at the time, but I thought you were too good for me. That you couldn't possibly love me, because you were human and I was Borg. In the end, you were the brave one. You always were, from the time you first saw me, still just a lost drone, my skin still pale, and still covered in Borg technology. You were among the first to be kind to me. And you were the first to come to me, to make me face my feelings, to get me to tell the truth, and that is a large part of why I love you so much Sammy. You bring out the best in me.

"I will never take you for granted. You are the one that I want. I don't know if I'm worthy of you, even still. To me, you still seem better than I deserve when I spent eighteen years of my life causing so much pain, but I'm not going to let that bother me anymore. Because I can see it in your eyes when are together. When you say you love me, I know it's true. I can hear it in your voice. Due to my own cowardice, I nearly lost that. It is through simple good fortune that I didn't, and I won't forget that.

"I love you Samantha Wildman. I'm grateful you love me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Thank you for being brave, for both of us. Thank you for choosing me."  
Seven stopped. Janeway knew she was supposed to say something else now, but was distracted by her own tears. She noticed that everyone else in the cargo bay was crying as well. With the ceremony being shown on all shipboard channels she had to wonder if there was a non-Vulcan, non-hologram on _Voyager_ that wasn't.

"Captain?" Samantha said. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, sorry," Janeway said. She searched her memory for the rest of what she needed to for the rest of the ceremony, and sped them as quickly as she could without stumbling over the words. She pronounced the couple as officially married under the power invested in her by Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Sam and Seven fell into each other's arms, kissing passionately, while the small group around them applauded. Naomi ran up and threw her arms around both Sam and Seven.

Janeway casually walked up to Harry Kim, and leaned in to talk to him quietly. "I'm curious," she said. "How is it you knew those two would end up together before even they did?"

"Because it's happened before," Harry said. "And now it's happening again."

"The Year of Hell?" Janeway said. Harry nodded. "Hmm. Maybe it is fate after all. Though obviously Seven seems to think it better that she not see it that way, and I see no reason to discourage that line of thinking. I always thought it was kismet with Mark, and look how that ended up."

Harry shrugged. "If there were a right answer for love captain, everyone who wanted it would have it. We do the best we can, and if it ends badly, it ends badly."

"That is oddly less cynical than it sounds Harry," Janeway said. "Anyway, I think it's time to send the happy couple off on their honeymoon to the holodeck."

"No M-class planets nearby?"

"None that aren't populated by pre-warp cultures," Janeway said.

* * *

As they walked down the corridor towards their quarters, hand in hand, Seven of Nine and Samantha Wildman would nod politely at any crewmember they came across who congratulated them, but their focus was on each other. When she saw no one nearby, Samantha stopped walking for a moment.

"Annie," she said, "I just want to thank you again, for what you said during the wedding. That was so beautiful."

"Thank you," Seven said. "I meant every word of it."

"I know you did. I just feel both flattered and confused that you'd see me as the brave one of us. I don't know if I could've faced some of things you have and come out the other side sane. Hell, that whole thing with the _Equinox_ nearly broke me."

"There's more to bravery than simply keeping a cool head in a crisis, Sam," Seven said. "But enough about that. I've finally figured where we can go on our honeymoon."

"Holodeck 1 or Holodeck 2?" Sam said with a wink.

"Ha ha," Seven said in a deadpan tone of voice. "I mean I believe I have chosen a program you will find satisfactory. I was researching the origins of my surname given at birth out of curiosity some time ago, and traced it an area of Earth called Scandinavia."

Samantha's jaw dropped. "Oh that is perfect, we could go skiing! I haven't been skiing since my academy days."

"Saunas are also a distinct possibility," Seven of Nine added with a smile.

"I love you," Sam said.

"I know," Seven said.

* * *

"And with that Lieutenant Torres," the Doctor said, closing his medical tricorder, "you are finally clear for duty."

"I can't help but feel like you took as long as you did to clear me to punish me," B'Elanna said.

"Punish you for what exactly? I mean besides the self-induced near death experience that both the captain and I warned you against of course?"

B'Elanna groaned. "Nobody likes a smart-ass Doc."

"Well then why am I dating you?" Tom Paris said, smiling.

B'Elanna just rolled her eyes and shook her head. _My boyfriend the comedian_ , she thought.

"So," the Doctor continued speaking after putting his medical instruments away. "did either of you happen to catch the broadcast of the ceremony this afternoon?"

"I slept through it actually," B'Elanna said.

"I heard it, and frankly I'm not amused," Tom said.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor said.

"Good question," B'Elanna added, crossing her arms.

"Seven's speech," Tom said. "Sets the bar pretty high for anyone else on this ship who might wanna get married before we get back to the Alpha Quadrant. I don't know how anybody could top that."

"It was certainly lovely," the Doctor said, "but I honestly think you're overstating things. What made what Seven said to Ensign Wildman so beautiful was its sincerity. As long as no one tries to go out of their way to just one up Seven of Nine, I'm sure anything said at any future _Voyager_ weddings will be just as romantic and poignant."

 _Well put,_ B'Elanna thought.

"Good point," Tom said aloud.

"I suppose I'll have to watch the recording of it after my shift," B'Elanna said. "But for now, it's back to engineering."

"I'll be on the bridge," Tom said. He put his arm around B'Elanna's shoulder and the two left sickbay together.

"Was it really that good?" B'Elanna said. "Whatever it was Seven said to Sam at the wedding I mean?"

Tom looked around, as if make extra certain no other crewmembers were within ear shot. "Just between you, me, and the bulkhead? I cried."

"Damn, sounds like it was good," B'Elanna said, genuinely surprised at Tom's admission.

* * *

Marla Gilmore stared at herself in the mirror of the quarters she was forced to share with two of the other _Equinox_ survivors. There were enough crew quarters for each of them to have their own of course, but a loss of that kind of privacy had been just one part of the punishment she and the others had been given by the Captain.

She didn't complain though. Noah and Angelo were almost never here at the same time she was, the former being trained to work in _Voyager's_ astrometrics lab, the latter having been assigned to security division under Lieutenant Ayala's supervision. As for her, she took one last look at her pip-less uniform, clean and pressed, in the mirror before heading to her shift in engineering, working under the Vulcan engineer, Ensign Vorik.

 _I just hope someday I feel like I deserve to be wearing it again,_ she thought.

She headed to engineering, and when she got there she was once again struck by how quiet the place was at this time of 'night.' That could change at a moment's notice if a crisis occurred, but as part of the night shift she wouldn't have to carry much if any of the burden. As the old academy joke went, "night shift just means you watch the monitors for eight hours unless something comes up, then you go wake up Mom & Dad," meaning the Captain and the First Officer.

She didn't mind though. The last time she had been in charge of engineering, she'd followed an order that had led to so much suffering she honestly didn't care that she was so far down the chain of command that the operation officer would be called down here to run things before she'd ever have to be in charge again.

"Miss Gilmore," Vorik said in his usual formal tone.

"Hello, Vorik," she said. "What's the schedule for tonight?"

"A routine cleaning of plasma injector ports," he said.

"Sounds good to me," Marla said.

Vorik raised an eyebrow, as he always did whenever Marla expressed enthusiasm for tasks that were normally considered boring by the rest of the engineering staff, but unlike the first time she'd done it over a week ago, he didn't comment.

Such tasks were boring of course, but necessary to keep a ship running smoothly. She also knew that she could actually take the time necessary to do them properly, a luxury she hadn't had on the _Equino_ x for years. When she could do repairs, they were always rushed. More than once she'd had to bypass procedures in a fashion that would make a Federation safety officer's head explode.

* * *

Brian Sofin, as well as Angelo Tassoni, being the sole surviving security officers of the _Equinox_ , had been added to _Voyager's_ security team under the constant supervision of either Lieutenant Ayala or Lieutenant Anderson, depending on the day.

Unlike the regular officers though, they were not allowed to have phasers just yet, and mainly only took part in drills.

As far as Sofin was concerned, they were getting off light. It still amazed him that there were any people on _Voyager_ at all who were polite to him. The majority were clearly uncomfortable, likely afraid of being betrayed again, but while no one had explicitly forgiven him, or anyone else from the _Equinox_ as far as he knew, but others had expressed a degree of sympathy. He did not feel he deserved it.

When he entered the mess hall, dimly lit as per usual during a ship's night cycle, the only sentient there was the Talaxian, Neelix, who was putting utensils away.

"Oh, hello," Neelix said, and Sofin nodded back politely.

"Mister Neelix," he said. "I apologize if I interrupted anything."

"Not at all," Neelix said. "Is there anything I can get you before I close up for the night?"

"No," Sofin said. "I just needed a quiet place to do my daily report for Lieutenant Commander Tuvok. I'm afraid that Noah snores."

"I can recommend an old Talaxian remedy for that," Neelix said. "Did wonders for me when I had that problem. At least according to Kes anyway, assuming she wasn't just trying to spare my feelings."

"Kes?" Sofin said.

"My ex-girlfriend," Neelix said. "She came aboard _Voyager_ with me six years ago."

"What happened to her?"

"That's a much more complicated story," Neelix said. "But one I'd be happy to share with you when I'm not headed for bed."

"I don't get it," Sofin said.

"What?" Neelix said.

"How you can be so kind to me after-"

"You were in a difficult situation and made some bad choices," Neelix said. "I hate to break it to you Mister, um, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name when you came aboard."

"Sofin. Brian Sofin."

"Brian. Got it. Anyway, Brian, there's hardly a sentient alive without some kind of regrets. You did something bad, sure. But punishment is not my purview, it's the Captain's. And my empathy was, last time I looked, not on the list of things the _Equinox_ survivors are not allowed to have while they're on _Voyager._ "

"I guess not," Sofin said.

"So, as I said, if you're free during the day tomorrow, swing by and I'll tell you all about Kes and what she meant, not just to me, but to the rest of this crew. It's a great story," Neelix said, smiling.

Sofin, reluctantly, smiled back. "I bet it is."

 **Chapter Three**

"You seem a little tense, Seven," the Doctor said as he ran his medical tricorder scanner over her. "This isn't any different from any of your other routine check-ups."

"I'm aware of that, Doctor," Seven said. "It's... I must admit I feel a certain trepidation about the next few days."

"Why's that?" the Doctor said, curious what his patient and friend meant.

"The last several occasions I have been given what the Captain calls 'time off,'" Seven said, "invariably something objectively bad happens within a week. It has happened on too many occasions to be mere coincidence."

"Oh come now," the Doctor said, surprised at Seven's sudden superstition and paranoia.

Seven raised an eyebrow, and proceeded to list off a number of stardates. The Doctor recognized the dates.

"Okay, I see your point," he said. "Still, it has been almost a week and we have not run into anymore Borg attacking viruses, nor has Samantha been involved in any shuttle crashes, and you haven't been kidnapped even once this past month."

"Most sentients beings are never kidnapped their entire lives. I've had it happen to me three times within the past year."

"Look, if something bad happens to you in the next 48 hours I'll confess to there being some sort of curse, if that's what you want to call it," the Doctor said. "That said, if there is one, Commander Chakotay is the one you'd want to talk to about that. Spiritual matters are well outside my expertise."

"I will take that into consideration," Seven said.

"Anyway," the Doctor said, "you are in perfect health. This keeps up I may decide to lengthen the period of time between check ups on you and your Borg implants."

"I'm curious why you have not done so already," Seven said.

The Doctor felt a little uncomfortable at that comment, for one reason.

 _She's got a point. Why haven't I?_ he thought.

"Fair enough," the Doctor said. "Let's make it every three weeks instead of every two. Oh, before I go I forgot to mention some exciting personal news on my end."

Seven nodded. The Doctor sighed "Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," he said.

"Your news, Doctor?"

"I have developed an addition to my program that will allow me to take part in the time honored sentient tradition of daydreaming." The Doctor smiled, proud of his accomplishment, and the expansion of his own sentience; another step on the journey from mere hologram to a full-blown photonic lifeform.

Seven of Nine's facial expression did not change. "Why?" she said.

* * *

"I suppose I owe you an apology, Seven," the Doctor said.

Seven of Nine raised an eyebrow, ignoring the looks the rest of the senior staff sitting down in the briefing room were giving her.

"Had this occurred approximately one day earlier, you would," she said, actually feeling sorry for how badly the Doctor's new daydreaming protocols had started going.

"However, we are outside of one full week after my return from my honeymoon. As such, this does not count as evidence towards any sort of 'curse.'"

"Gee," the Doctor said with that mock smile that Seven found so obnoxious. "Glad to know that you can keep your priorities straight."

Seven sighed, and looked to the captain to say something, anything, to move this conversation along. The Captain, head in her hands, finally spoke up.

"So, just for my own sake so I know I'm not losing my mind," Janeway said, "could you repeat what you just told me? 'Cause it sounded to me like you just said a bunch of aliens want to destroy us based on what they saw in your 'daydreams.'"

"Well, when you put it that way Captain," the Doctor said, "I know it sounds rather-"

"Insane?" B'Elanna said.

"Ridiculous?" Harry said.

"A typical Thursday for us?" Tom said.

The Doctor huffed. "I was going to say 'implausible.' But at least it explains my unusual behavior over the past 24 hours."

"Like climbing over the railing around the warp core?" B'Elanna said.

"In my defense," the Doctor said, "I did believe that a warp core breach was imminent."

"Go back to the beginning Doctor," Janeway said. "And no more interruptions from the rest of you," she added, glaring at the rest of the senior staff.

"Right, sorry," the Doctor said. "In short, I added new subroutines to my program that allowed me to daydream, an activity I've long wanted to be able to do. But, as the incident in engineering demonstrated, the subroutines began malfunctioning. I was daydreaming whether I wanted to or not. At first, I assumed the problem was a result of a failure on my end; that I'd somehow botched the coding to put it simply. But then an alien named Phlox, no relation to the Denobulan we met during the NX-01 incident-"

"That's the part that throws me," Janeway said. "That seems an awfully big coincidence Doctor. How can we be sure this Hierarchy you're trying to warn us about isn't another hallucination?"

 _A valid question_ , Seven thought.

"Captain, aren't you breaking your own order about no interruptions?" the Doctor said.

Janeway gave the Doctor a look that both Samantha and Naomi often referred to as the "death glare," and Seven actually felt sorry for the Doctor in that moment.

"Um, yes, well, moving on," the Doctor said, shifting in his seat. "According to this other Phlox, we're being observed from the nebula we passed by an alien race that calls themselves the Hierarchy. They perceive us as a threat, because in one of my daydreams, my ECH program was activated, and I used a weapon called a photonic cannon to destroy a Borg sphere in one shot."

"Was this before or after you started with the nude paintings of certain female crewmembers?" Janeway said.

This was news to Seven. She certainly hoped that neither herself nor Samantha were among them. While logically it was not fair to punish someone for fantasies at all, let alone fantasies that were being influenced from the outside by alien technology, she also couldn't deny that things would be awkward between them for an indeterminate amount of time if that were the case.

"You said you wouldn't mention that!" the Doctor said to B'Elanna.

"I didn't," B'Elanna said. "The Captain was with me when we used the holodeck to find out was going on in your head when the odd behavior started."

"I believe we are getting off track," Tuvok said.

"Agreed," Chakotay added. Seven couldn't help but notice that the latter looked as uncomfortable as the Doctor.

Janeway sighed. "Okay, yes," she said. "Maybe I'm being a bit unfair here. Daydreaming can be a good thing, as it lets one imagine other possibilities in life. However, you should've consulted with someone, and waited until you were absolutely certain that you could add this ability to your program without damaging it."

The Doctor nodded. "You are absolutely correct, Captain," he said.

"Now," Janeway said, "back to this other Phlox and the Hierarchy."

"At first," the Doctor continued, "I thought that what Lieutenant Torres had done to stabilize my matrix had failed, and that I was imagining again. But what he said made too much sense, especially compared to things like the photonic cannon or, um, well. What he said was that he had put me back into the fiction so he could communicate with me. He said he was an observer on an assault ship that scans passing vessels for technology or raw materials they, the Hierarchy, can steal. For several days, he was using a long-range tunneling sensor to tap into my program."

"That could explain how your algorithms got all jumbled," Harry said. "You might not have done anything wrong when you added the daydreaming function. What happened could've been a side effect of the tap."

"Plausible," Tuvok said, "assuming this is not another daydream."

"Continue, Doctor," Janeway said. Seven glanced in her direction. While she wasn't entirely certain, the tonal shift suggested that the Captain was starting to believe the Doctor. Seven was sure she did too, but decided to wait for more information.

"He told me that he had mistaken my daydreams for reality, that he had tapped into my perceptions as opposed to my fantasies. Seeing that Borg sphere vaporized with one volley of the fantasy weapon I invented convinced the Hierarchy that _Voyager_ was a threat that needed to be destroyed and that they are planning a sneak attack as we speak.

"He said that if I did as he asked, we could avoid the attack."

"Why would he want to help us?" Janeway asked.

"His motives weren't entirely selfless," the Doctor said. "He said that the Hierarchy does not tolerate mistakes like the one he made. He claims he would face a loss of employment at best, execution at worst, if we were attacked and his superiors found our ship to be less powerful than he reported. I imagine that I had, well, imagined the whole thing my fantasy would've involved him simply seeing the error of his ways and joining the path of the righteous."

"Well, at least he was honest," B'Elanna said.

"You believe him?" Tom said.

B'Elanna shrugged. "Maybe," she said.

"Speaking for myself," Harry said, "I do."

"As do I," Seven said.

Janeway held up a PADD that the Doctor had handed to her on the bridge. "And this is the information you say he gave you," she said, "about how to reconfigure our sensors so we could find their ships, which would be cloaked." It wasn't a question.

"As I said, Captain," the Doctor said. "And the sooner we do it-"

"Harry, make the adjustments. I don't see how doing so would harm us in any way if this turns out to be another fantasy."

"Aye, Captain," Harry said, standing up and taking the PADD.

"Everyone else, back to your stations," Janeway said. The crew all nodded before standing up and filing back out on the bridge. Seven stopped to put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, and wondered why he flinched when she did so.

"Doctor," she said, "I assure you, if this turn out to be the result of another hallucination, we will do our best to fix you."

"I know," the Doctor said. "I'm just sorry for how uncomfortable I've made everyone. Thank you for being so forgiving."

Seven had to work to keep her facial features from betraying her initial reaction when she realized what he meant. After a moment, she spoke again.

"You are not the first individual on this ship to have feelings for me that I cannot reciprocate," she said.

"I'm glad that things aren't going to be awkward between us," the Doctor said.

"I'm afraid they will be," Seven admitted. "but only until I've had a chance to process this new information."

The Doctor looked down, and Seven felt empathy for him, but she couldn't let that distract her. She was needed on the bridge at her post.

"I won't ask you not to tell Samantha about this," the Doctor said, "I have no right. But, would you be so kind as to leave out the nude painting part of the daydreams?"

"Trust me," Seven said, "I had no intention of including that information. Now, if you could be so kind as to delete those images from your memory…"

"Seven, I'm the ship's physician. I've seen everyone's body."

Seven gave the Doctor her best approximation of the Captain's "death glare."

"I'll delete the paintings," the Doctor said.

* * *

"The Doctor was right," Harry said. "I'm detecting three ships out there. Distance, six-hundred thousand kilometers."

"Well I'll be damned," Tom said.

"That's closer than I'd thought they be," the Doctor said. "That's not good."

"On screen," Janeway said. Even though she had believed the Doctor, a part of her was still shocked to actually see three vessels on the screen. The image wasn't crystal clear, but that was likely a side effect of their cloaking devices.

"Okay," Chakotay said. "Now what?"

"Hang on," Tom said, "what if this is all part of their attack? What if this Phlox guy fed you false information as part of a ruse?"

"I doubt it," Janeway said. "Giving us the ability to spot them through their cloaks would be a incredibly stupid plan. No one would… well, okay the Pakleds maybe. But no one else would deliberately put themselves at such a disadvantage."

"According to Phlox, and no, that will never not be weird to say, the Hierarchy is running what's known as a type-3 assault. They won't de-cloak until they're right on top of us, at which point they'll fire a warning shot across our bow."

"At which point," Janeway said, "they start making demands?"

"Correct," the Doctor said. "For technology and the like. If we don't comply, they destroy us. Fortunately, Phlox promised to transmit the frequencies of their phasers. He gave the ones for his ship already, he just needed time to get the information on the other two."

"I've already put that information into the computer," Harry said.

"Confirmed," Tuvok said. "What did this Mister Phlox want in return?"

The Doctor winced, and Janeway knew that she wasn't going to like what she heard next. "In return. Yeah. He mistakenly informed his superiors that i was in command of _Voyager_. He wants to maintain that fiction. When they open that channel, I'm sorry, but I have to be sitting in the captain's chair."

Janeway rubbed her eyes. "You know," she said, "if I couldn't see those ships with my own eyes…"

"He insisted, Captain," the Doctor said.

"This should be fun," Tom said.

"Well, good luck with that," Janeway said. "Harry, help get the Emergency Command Hologram set up."

* * *

Harry Kim had to keep himself from laughing as he helped make the necessary alterations to the Doctor's program.

"I am in over my head," the Doctor said. "I am going to screw this up, I know it."

"Too late to back out now, Doctor," Harry said. "If we want to keep the Hierarchy from being a problem down the road, we can't just run away."

"I never should've created the program alteration in the first place," the Doctor said. Harry simply shrugged and tapped out the last few controls. Suddenly, the Doctor's visage changed; his uniform became command red, and four pip appeared on his collar, one at a time. The Doctor glanced at them, then back at Harry with a frown.

"Was the dramatic flourish really necessary Lieutenant?" he said.

"Nope," Harry admitted.

"Captain on the bridge," Tom said, smirking.

Harry watched as the Doctor nervously sat in the captain's chair, Chakotay at his side offering quiet reassurances.

 _Let's hope this works_ , Harry thought.

"Captain," Chakotay said, "we're ready to proceed."

"Acknowledged," Janeway said over the ship's comm from astrometrics. "Seven and I can hear everything that happens up there, but no one will be able to hear me but the Doctor once the internal comm link is active.

"Doctor, are you ready?"

"No, but do I have a choice?"

Harry did not hear anything. "Understood," the Doctor said.

 _The link's already on then_ , Harry thought. _I hope hearing only one side of the conversation doesn't get too confusing_.

"I'm receiving a transmission on a secure channel, audio only," Tuvok said.

"Must be the Doctor's new friend," Chakotay said. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"Doctor," the voice said, "something terrible has happened. They've ordered a type-four assault. Our phaser frequencies will be rotated continuously. I won't be able to help you."

"Oh shit," the Doctor said, "oh that's bad. That's very bad."

"Calm down, Doctor," Chakotay said. "Mister Phlox, this is Commander Chakotay. What else can you tell us about type-four?"

"Three vessels are decloaking off the port bow," Tuvok said.

"I'm too late," Phlox said. "I'm so sorry,"

The deck lurched violently underneath Harry, the whole bridge shuddering.

"That didn't feel like a warning shot," Tom said.

"Direct hit, shields are holding," Tuvok said.

Harry heard a beep from his own console. "They're hailing us," he said.

"On screen," Chakotay said.

The visage of an alien bridge filled the viewscreen. Three large headed aliens were within frame, the tallest one at center, presumably the ships' commander. The alien to his left was looking at something off screen, while the one to his right looked forward, fidgeting.

 _That must be Phlox_ , Harry thought. _He even looks friendlier than that Denobulan we met_.

"The Hierarchy controls this region of space," the tall one said. "Your ship has supplies and technology that we require."

"We'll defend ourselves," the Doctor said. "You won't get what you're after."

"An exchange of fire would damage both of our ships," the Hierarchy commander said. "but we have support nearby. You are alone. Take your weapons off-line and prepare to board-" the viewscreen suddenly went back to a view of the now de-cloaked Hierarchy ships.

"Excuse the interruption, Commander," Tuvok said, "I've found a potential weakness in their shields, but I'll need time to reconfigure our phasers."

"Keep him occupied Doctor," Chakotay said. "On screen." Chakotay stood up and walked past the Doctor to the tactical console.

"This is your final warning," the Hierarchy commander said, as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"Don't rush me," the Doctor said.

"Take your weapons off-line, immediately. I won't ask again."

"You," the Doctor said, wagging his finger at the screen, "appear to be suffering from a physio-emotive disorder."

 _What?_ Harry thought. _Where is this going?_

"You're impatient, quick to anger," the Doctor continued, "you may want to see a physician. Me for instance. That was my first job after all. I kinda miss it since I had to take command."

The viewscreen showed the bridge of the Hierarchy shudder slightly. Harry looked down. Tuvok had opened fire.

"Direct hit," Tuvok said.

"Ha!" The Doctor said. "How do you like that huh? A taste of your own medicine!"

 _That definitely didn't come from the Captain_ , Harry thought.

The Hierarchy commander slammed down on something off-screen, and _Voyager_ shook violently, panels sparking all over the bridge,

"Phasers are off-line," Tuvok reported.

"Prepare to be boarded!" the Hierarchy commander said.

"Tuvok!" the Doctor said, standing up to full attention, looking confident for the first time since this fiasco had started. Harry bit his lip to keep himself from asking the Doctor what he was planning. "Activate the photonic cannon," the Doctor added, striding casually closer to the viewscreen.

 _We're dead_ , Harry thought.

"Tuvok, that was an order," the Doctor bellowed, as Tom looked back at him as if the Doctor had just given an order to perform scenes from a 20th century melodrama.

Harry glanced at Tuvok, who was looking at Chakotay. The latter nodded.

"Activating the photonic cannon, sir," Tuvok said.

"I'd rather not give the order to fire," the Doctor said.

The Hierarchy commander looked up at something. "My sensors show no activation sequence," he said.

"Of course not," the Doctor said authoritatively. "The photonic cannon is impervious to sensors.

"The Borg couldn't detect it either," the one Harry was sure was Phlox said, "that's why they were destroyed."

"The Borg, the Hierarchy," the Doctor said, "it's all the same to me. Just another bully who didn't know when to back off."

"We'll be vaporized," Phlox said. The Hierarchy commander pushed a button, and the communications link was severed, the viewscreen returning to the view of the Hierarchy ships.

"I'm choosing to take it as a good sign they haven't just opened fire already," Tom said.

"Right there with you Mister Paris," the Doctor said. It was only then that Harry noticed that the Doctor's hands had been behind his back the whole time, hidden from view of the Hierarchy commander. They were shaking. Harry smiled, impressed at how well the Doctor had hidden his nervousness from the Hierarchy. Nearly a minute later, the viewscreen showed the Hierarchy ships turning around.

"They're moving away at full impulse," Harry said.

The Doctor, despite being a hologram who didn't need to breathe, sighed as if he'd been holding the breath the entire time since the comm link had been cut. He walked back towards the captain's chair, but didn't sit in it, instead just looking at it. Chakotay moved away from the tactical console and stood behind the Captain's chair, and motioned to it.

"Go ahead, Doctor," he said, smiling. "You earned it."

The Doctor sat down, slowly, but eventually began looking around the bridge, allowing Harry to see him smiling now as well.

"So, Doc, did it hurt?" Tom said.

"Did what hurt, Ensign?"

"When you pulled that bluff out of your-"

"Tom," Chakotay said, "resume our standard course."

* * *

The Doctor sat in his office in sickbay, going over the daily reports. The daydream program, despite being fixed by Harry and B'Elanna, was off-line. He'd been tempted to delete it altogether, and might have had he not mentioned the plan to the Captain, who had proceeded to talk him out of it. She'd convinced him to take more time to consider it before just deleting it rashly, stating that he might regret it later if he did so now.

The chirp of an open comm link filled the quiet room.

"Torres to the Doctor," B'Elanna's voice said. "Could you come to the mess hall please?"

 _What's this all about?_ the Doctor thought. It didn't sound like an emergency, there was no sense of urgency in B'Elanna's voice. He wondered if maybe one of Neelix's cheeses was threatening the bio-neural circuits again.

"On my way," he said, affixing his mobile emitter to his arm.

He wondered what could be possibly be important enough to summon him that wasn't a medical emergency. He reached the entrance to the mess hall and stepped inside, only to be shocked to see most of the senior staff and several other officers standing there in dress uniforms, as well as Neelix, and Naomi.

"Surprise!" they all yelled.

"Don't worry Doc," Harry Kim said, "this is all real."

The Doctor looked around. "I don't understand," he said. "What's this all about?"

Janeway held her hand up, and Harry put something in it. She walked up to him and affixed a pin to his uniform.

"For your imaginative defense of this ship and her crew," she said, "I am awarding you with the Starfleet Medal of Commendation. Congratulations."

"I… Thank you," the Doctor said, feeling overwhelmed.

"I've also reconsidered your request from a few days ago. I'm going to authorize a research project to explore your command abilities. The Emergency Command Hologram won't just be in your fantasies anymore." Janeway began clapping, and soon the rest of the crew members in the mess hall joined in.

The Doctor looked around, taking it all in, when a realization hit him. Obviously they couldn't fit every _Voyager_ crew member in this relatively tiny mess hall, and none of the _Equinox_ survivors were allowed to attend ship functions yet, but two particular absences stood out to him. Seven of Nine and Samantha Wildman weren't here.

 _I guess I can't blame her_ , the Doctor thought.

* * *

Seven of Nine sat on the couch in Samantha's quarters, reading a PADD. Samantha looked at her, concerned, but didn't say anything.

"If you wish to attend the party for the Doctor, Sam, I won't be offended," Seven said.

"Offending you isn't what I'm worried about," Samantha said. "I get why you're upset, but I doubt the Doctor has done anything at any point untoward with you."

"Perhaps," Seven said, "but at the same time the revelation of his feelings for me complicates matters. I can't help but wonder how many of our friendly interactions over the past year, or possibly more, were done with the purpose of spending time with me as opposed to his stated reasons."

"If it were just about any other sentient on this ship I'd say that was possible," Sam said, moving from her chair to sit next to Seven. "But the Doctor? I think his only crime here, if you could call it even that much, was not just getting it out in the open, like Harry did back when he had a thing for you. If the Doctor hadn't kept it to himself you both could've dealt with this like adults."

"Am I not handling it like an adult now, Sam?" Seven said.

Samantha rested her hands on Seven's shoulder and sighed.

"I suppose you are," Samantha said. "If you weren't I imagine you'd be doing far worse things than skipping his award ceremony."

"That is accurate," Seven said, putting the PADD down and leaning back. "It is best that I avoid being alone with him for a day or so, allow myself time to process my feelings on the matter." Seven turned her head to look Samantha in the eyes, and smiled. Samantha smiled back. "Would you be willing to help me?" Seven whispered.

"What kind of wife would I be if I wasn't?" Samantha whispered back.

 **Chapter Four**

Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay sat across from each other in the Captain's quarters over lunch, like they did most days, but today's lunch was quieter than usual.

"It's been over a week, Kathryn," Chakotay said, finally breaking the awkward silence. "If either the Vaadwaur or the Turei were going to come after us they'd have done so by now."

"You're probably right," Janeway said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Let's talk about other things."

"Like?"

"What are your thoughts on how the _Equinox_ survivors are doing?"

Chakotay picked up a PADD he had put on the table when lunch started.

"It so happens," he said, "I was planning to bring that up later myself. The engineering staff seems to think pretty highly of Marla Gilmore, though she largely keeps to herself. James Morrow has been getting by in the labs, also stays pretty quiet. Brian Sofin does his job equally as well as the first two, but is a bit more sociable. Word has it he's got a friendship budding with Neelix."

"Wow," Janeway said. "Making friends already? I'd hoped it would happen, but I also didn't think it would happen this quickly."

"Well," Chakotay said with a wry grin, "remember how much you used to worry about the Starfleet and Maquis crews getting along?"

Janeway chuckled. "Good point. How long has it been since that was an issue for anybody?"

"I don't even remember, I'd have to look it up."

"Okay, so that covers three out of five. The other two?"

"Lessing is a little hard to get a bead on. He shows up on time, does his duties, then leaves. He doesn't talk to anyone, not even the other _Equinox_ crew near as anyone can tell. He's not incompetent, but his department heads agree that he seems to putting in the minimum amount of effort. He's not being lazy, he gets things done when and how he's told, but there's a general sense that he could be doing better. It's almost as if he doesn't want to earn back any of the crew's trust."

"That could probably be guilt," Janeway said. "Maybe he doesn't feel like he deserves the second chance we're giving him."

"Seems likely," Chakotay said. He sighed, then handed the PADD across to Janeway. "That just leave Angelo Tassoni."

"I've heard rumors. The word 'asshole' was used."

"Sounds about right," Chakotay said. "He hasn't done anything we can actually throw him in the brig over, at least not yet. And he does show up for every single shift on time and does what he's told, and does it well in all fairness. It's his attitude everyone has a problem with. He comes across as smug, and several reports say that he still will try to defend Captain Ransom's actions to anyone who tries to engage him in conversation. Even the other _Equinox_ survivors don't seem to want anything to do with him. I think we should consider reassigning him."

"To where?" Janeway said. "The few things his file says he's good at are things that would require more security access than I've allowed any of the _Equinox_ crew to have so far. Short of just confining him to quarters, which I'd really rather not do when we're still decades away from-"

Janeway stopped as she noticed the lights in the room dimmed suddenly. She was about to ask why, when the ship suddenly began shuddering. The com chirped and Harry Kim's voice filled the room.

"Senior staff," he said, "report to the bridge."

Janeway tapped her com badge. "On our way."

Chakotay wondered if maybe he he'd been wrong about the Vaadwaur not coming after them, but if it were an attack, Harry would've given the order to go to battle stations first. He followed Janeway out of her quarters, and the two quickly made their way to the bridge, where Harry gave up the center chair as soon as they arrived. Both Tom Paris and Tuvok were already at their stations.

"Report," Janeway said.

"We've got level nine gravimetric distortions closing on our position," Harry said.

"They appear to be emanating from subspace," Tuvok said.

"On screen," Janeway said. The viewscreen showed space distorting behind _Voyager_ , close enough that the ship's own nacelles were in frame of the visual sensors. "Shields."

"Already done," Harry said.

The distortion on the viewscreen soon changed as the distortion completed its exit from subspace. Glowing bright orange and roughly oval shaped, it seemed to emit both flames and electrical sparks. It appeared to be following _Voyager,_ but for some reason all Chakotay could think was that the distortion looked familiar somehow. Not in the sense that he had seen it personally, but perhaps in a textbook or an archive video.

"I can't outrun this thing at impulse," Tom said. "It's catching up."

"Go to warp," Janeway said.

"It's disrupting our warp field," Tom said.

"Seven of Nine to the bridge," Chakotay heard over the com. "I'm observing the situation from astrometrics. I recognize this anomaly from my time as a drone. We called it Spatial Anomaly 521. It's attracted to objects that emit electromagnetic energy. I strongly advise we cut power and reverse our shield polarity."

"Do it," Janeway said without hesitation. The ship's shuddering briefly got worse, then tapered off as the viewscreen showed the anomaly glide right past them.

"That was close," Tom said. "If it had caught up to us the gravimetric forces would've ripped our hull right off."

Chakotay began tapping away on the console by his arm, pulling up images from Starfleet records regarding gravimetric anomalies. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

"I was right," he said.

"Commander?" Janeway said.

"I've seen this before too. In history books. It's called a graviton ellipse. It travels through subspace. The Federation database confirms it. Look." He shifted his monitor so the captain could see it.

"I'll be damned," she said. "It's only been observed a handful of times. Looks like we get to add another encounter to the record."

"Unless there's more than one of these, Captain," Chakotay said, "we just found the ellipse that took the _Ares Four_. It was a ship from one of the early Mars missions. Its command module and pilot, Lieutenant John Kelly, were engulfed by a phenomenon that looked just like that one, according to the records we have available from 2032."

"I remember reading about that," Tom said. "The two other astronauts were stranded there for weeks before a rescue ship arrived. I didn't know you read about the Mars missions too, Commander."

"I've spent some of my spare time reading up on pre-Federation Earth history," Chakotay said. "I guess I can blame you for that, Tom. You're history buff ways have rubbed off on me."

"You're welcome," Tom said, smirking.

"Captain," Chakotay continued, "no one has ever gotten this close to a graviton ellipse and lived to talk about it. This could be a remarkable opportunity."  
Janeway smiled and nodded. "Take us down to Yellow Alert. Keep our power output at minimal levels. Match the ellipse's course and speed but keep a safe distance."

"Yes, Captain," Tom said.

"I suggest we launch a probe," Chakotay said. "and maybe see what makes this thing tick."

"Better make it quick," Janeway said. "There's no telling when our friend here is going to burrow back into subspace."

* * *

Seven of Nine could not remember a time when she had seen Commander Chakotay quite so enthusiastic about something, especially not something relating to old Earth history. That had always seemed to be Ensign Paris' field of interest. The Commander stood next to her now in astrometrics, waiting for the telemetry from the probe they'd sent into Anomaly 521.

"Ah, there we are," Chakotay said, and Seven turned her gaze away from the screen to look at him and his console. "It appears to have entered a stable state, obviously temporary based on what we already know. Gravimetric forces appear to be negligible while in this state."

"The eye of the storm?" Seven said.

"Good metaphor," Chakotay said. "Computer, run a multispectral analysis of the anomaly's core."

"Analysis in progress," the computer voice said.

"The Borg developed shields to get through the gravimetric currents," Seven said. "But they intended to use them to dissipate the anomaly from within. I would need to modify the designs if we intend to explore the anomaly rather than destroy it."

"I don't know if we'll be doing either," Chakotay said. "Might be too risky. Though I won't lie, if I had the chance to fly through that thing, just once, I'd probably take it. I'm a bit surprised the Borg were so interested in destroying it rather than learning how it operated. Seems to contradict their stated goals."

Seven sighed. "Don't even get me started," she said quietly.

"Core analysis complete," the computer said.

Seven and Chakotay both began going over the collected data as it appeared on both their monitors.

"There are more than 2.8 Billion compounds in the core," Seven said, openly showing surprise. "Fascinating."

"The computer's isolated several synthetic alloys native to my home sector," Chakotay said.

"It could be this _Ares Four_ you mentioned earlier," Seven said. She saw Chakotay looking up at the graphic representation of the graviton ellipse, smiling slightly.

"Could be," he said. "An amazing discovery, don't you think, Seven?"

Seven of Nine was not as interested in Earth history as Chakotay or Mister Paris were, and as such could not bring herself to share her shipmate's enthusiasm. Luckily, she knew better than to say so out loud.

"Quite," she said.

* * *

Later that day, in the briefing room, after the senior staff along with Seven had been filled in on the details of the _Ares Four_ , Chakotay asked Seven about what she'd said to him in astrometrics about the Borg seeking a way inside the graviton ellipse.

"Do you think you could apply those shield enhancements to the _Delta Flyer_?" he said.

"I believe I could, yes," Seven said. "Though I should note for the records the risks involved in going in there after the _Ares Four_ commend module, as its value would be purely historical."

"Your concerns are noted, Seven," Janeway said.

"By my calculations," Tuvok said, "we have less than sixteen hours before the anomaly returns to subspace."

"We'll have to work quickly then," Janeway said. Chakotay was sure he heard a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. He couldn't help but smile. The Captain had seemed to have been going through the motions the past several months. Her funk was not quite as severe as what she'd went through during their time in dark space last year, but she still seemed to be feeling emotional after effects of everything that had happened with the _Equinox_.

"An engineering team could help me modify the _Flyer's_ shields more quickly, Captain," Seven said, bringing Chakotay's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Agreed. B'Elanna, I want you and Vorik to help Seven," Janeway said.

"Aye, Captain," B'Elanna said.

"Tom," Janeway said, "review the database from the _Ares Four_ mission. It might tell us something about this anomaly we've missed." Janeway smiled as she glanced knowingly at Chakotay. "Now, we're going to need a mission leader," she said.

"I volunteer," Chakotay said, not needing any further prompting.

"I thought you might," Janeway said. "Let's do it."

Tom chuckled. "Beat me to the punch, Commander."

"Don't worry, Tom," Chakotay said. "We'll be taking the _Flyer_ in. Can't do that without her pilot now can we?"

"Two history buffs in one shuttle?" Tom said. "We'll end up getting nerd all over the bulkheads."

"Better nerd than testosterone," B'Elanna said.

Janeway and Harry both started laughing, while Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow. Seven just smirked and shook her head while tapping out calculations on a PADD.

"Okay, enough small talk," Janeway said. "Get to work. Dismissed."

* * *

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Commander," Samantha said as Naomi moved to get a better view of the screen in astrometrics. "She heard about the _Ares Four_ and the mission to recover the command module, and now all of a sudden Earth history is her passion. This week, anyway."

"Mom," Naomi said defensively.

Chakotay simply laughed. "No problem," he said, "though since this is a time sensitive mission Tom and I will be picking up from where we left off in the records instead of starting over."

"That's okay," Naomi said.

"You're welcome to stay too of course, Sam," Tom said.

"Sure," Samantha said, shrugging, and moving to take a seat on the floor next to her daughter.

The video in the center of the screen, surprisingly clear given how old it was began playing and the man who Samantha had figured was John Kelly, began describing what he was seeing, a view that the recording device was not picking up.

"It's not a solar flare," Kelly said. "Wow."

"John, can you describe it?" a female voice on the recording said.

"It's… it's at least one thousand meters wide. Bright." The video started to fill with static. Another voice, this one male, chimed in.

"Your transmission is breaking up," that voice said.

"It's generating an electromagnetic radiation," Lieutenant Kelly said. "Interfering with primary systems. I can't get away from it."

The lights inside the command module dimmed, but for a moment the video cleared up. Kelly reached off-screen.

"Activating the transpectral imager," he said. "I'll record as much data as I can." The image began shaking violently, and the static increased. Samantha looked over at Naomi, who simply stared in open awe at the historical footage, even though all it was was a human strapped into a chair, the way pilots were in the days before artificial gravity.

"It's right on top of me!" Kelly said. "I'll transmit as much I can-" the video filled with static, and all audio stopped.

"NASA," Chakotay said, "that was the name of the organization Kelly worked for," he added, looking at Naomi and Sam. "they received Kelly's last telemetry at 0922 hours, October 19, 2032. The early Mars missions paved the way for humanity's exploration of space."

"And now the anomaly that he saw is here in the Delta Quadrant," Naomi said. "Wow."

"'Wow is right," Tom said.

"He was certainly dedicated," Chakotay said. "His life was about to end, but he wouldn't stop taking readings."

"Like a real explorer," Naomi said. Samantha put her hand on Naomi's head.

"Don't go getting any ideas," she said. "Save the dangerous exploring for when you're older."

The hiss of the door to astrometrics opening distracted both of them before Naomi could respond.

"Am I interrupting?" Seven of Nine said as she entered, visibly surprised to see Sam and Naomi here, but not letting it throw her off.

"Not at all," Chakotay said. "Are the shield modifications to the _Delta Flyer_ complete?"

"They are," Seven said, handing a PADD to the Commander. "We're ready for launch."

"We?" Chakotay said.

 _News to me too_ , Samantha thought.

"I asked the Captain to allow me to join the mission to ensure that the Borg shield modifications can be repaired quickly if any unforeseeable problems arise," Seven said. "I do not believe it to be likely, but give the volatile nature of the anomaly, well, I believe the phrase is 'better safe than sorry?'"

"Can I come too?" Naomi said.

"No," Seven and Samantha said in unison, much to Tom and Chakotay's apparent amusement.

"Please tell me B'Elanna and I don't do that," Tom said.

"Not that I've heard at least," Chakotay said. "Back to the subject, I wish the Captain had informed me about this before hand. Tom and I were planning to go in ourselves."

"It is still your mission, Commander," Seven said. "I am simply going along as... added insurance."

Chakotay looked at Tom, who simply shrugged. "Alright then, welcome to the team, Seven. We'll just need to see the Doctor before we take off."

* * *

"I'm preparing an inoculant to counter the effects of gravimetric radiation," the Doctor said, holding up a yellow vial while scanning it with a medical device that Chakotay could swear he had never seen before.

 _I really should know what all this medical equipment is called,_ he thought. _I might need to help the Doctor out in a pinch, or worse. After six years you'd think I'd know some of it already._

"We're all finished here," the Doctor said after having applied the inoculant to Chakotay, Tom, and Seven. "except for one thing."

"And that is?" Chakotay said, anxious to get the mission started so he could see the _Ares Four_ up close before it was too late. The Doctor went over to one of the bio-beds, and picked up his holo-camera off the end of it. He made a move to hand it to Chakotay.

"If you want pictures Doc," Tom said, "you could just come with us. You know as well as anyone that the _Flyer_ can easily seat four comfortably."

"I asked the Captain, but she wouldn't let me," the Doctor said, looking dejected.

"Just take the camera, Commander," Seven of Nine said. "If you don't we'll never hear the end of it."

Chakotay bit back a laugh and nodded, taking the camera. "Our focus will be on recovering the module," he said as he put the camera into the mission gear bag. "But if we can get a few glamour shots of the inside of the ellipse for you, I'll take them."

"That's all I'm asking for, Commander," the Doctor said with that big smile he would always get; the one that Chakotay would find either charming or annoying depending on the context.

"Team," he said, "report to the shuttle bay."

"Yes sir," Tom said.

"Yes, Commander," Seven said.

The three swiftly made their way to the shuttle bay to board the _Delta Flyer_. After one last check-up of the shield enhancements by Seven, they left _Voyager_ and headed straight towards the graviton ellipse.

"We're approaching the perimeter," Tom said, "in five, four, three, two, one."

The small craft shuddered slightly as it passed through the outer edge of the anomaly, yellow and orange gases resembling dancing flames moving across the viewport. The shuddering got worse, but that was to be expected.

"Shields are holding," Seven said.

"Gravimetric shear is increasing," Tom said.

"I'm reading a spot up ahead with minimal disturbance," Chakotay said. "Tom, go to full thrusters and punch us through. We'll be safer in there."

"Got it,' Tom said. Within seconds, the _Flyer_ stopped shuddering. Chakotay looked forward, and along with the omnipresent orange glow and flashes of yellow lightning, he could see debris scattered throughout the inside of the ellipse, much of it too small to ever be identifiable.

"Chakotay to _Voyager_ ," he said. "We're in. I wish you could see this, Captain. It's incredible."

"We're all ears," Janeway's voice said over the _Flyer's_ com system.

Chakotay needed a moment to collect himself. He had seen some spectacular things in the galaxy, even before getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but this was easily among the most amazing.

"It's very calm," he said. "No gravimetric distortions. The E.M. activity is creating a natural luminescence. Tom called it 'mood lighting.'"

"Hey, B'Elanna," Tom interrupted, "it's the perfect romantic getaway."

"I'll take you word for it," B'Elanna replied.

"We've detected asteroid fragments," Chakotay continued, "pieces of vessels, matter from every quadrant of the galaxy. Next time I lose something I'll know where to look. The chemical interactions here have even created a primitive atmosphere."

"Nothing you'd want to breathe of course," Tom said.

"Some of the matter appears to be extra-dimensional in origin," Seven said.

"Amazing," Chakotay said.

"Indeed," Seven said.

"Any sign of the _Ares_ command module?" Janeway said.

"We're picking up traces of the hull," Tom said, "but our sensor readings are being refracted by all the debris in here."

Chakotay thought he heard a slight hissing sound on the other end of the com.

"That was a gravimetric surge," Tuvok said, "caused by the anomaly altering its course by .006 degrees."

"Did you catch that?" Janeway said.

"Affirmative," Chakotay said, "but we didn't feel anything."

"Makes sense given how deep you are," Janeway said. "By our estimate you have five hours and thirty-six minutes before the ellipse returns to subspace. You better hurry it up."

"Understood," Chakotay said.

"I'm having difficulty isolating the debris from the command module," Seven said. Chakotay thought he picked up a hint of disappointment in her voice. He wondered if maybe some of the crew's general excitement about the historical find had rubbed off on her after all.

"I'm laying in a search pattern," Tom said from the helm. "It'll probably take a few hours to cover an area this large."

"Seven, you and I can take that time to get some samples," Chakotay said. "We'll get a better idea of where this anomaly been."

"Is that the best use of our time, Commander?" Seven said.

"Our primary objective is to retrieve the module," Chakotay said. "but until Tom can get a lock on its position…"

"Good point. Perhaps we can learn something valuable to benefit _Voyager_ in the interim," Seven said.

* * *

Seven ran a tricorder over several pieces of ephemera beamed aboard the _Flyer_ from the inside of the graviton ellipse. Nothing collected so far had piqued her own interest, but the Commander's excitement with each new discovery was palpable.

"The fossilized microbes in this ore," she said, stopping to focus on one particular piece of debris on the table in the center of the _Flyer's_ back room, "appear to have had metallic membranes."

"We've speculated about the possibility of metallic lifeforms," Chakotay said, "but we've never discovered one."

"We still may not have," Seven said. "This is certainly strong evidence, but I would refrain from labelling it proof just yet."

"Fair point," Chakotay said. "Catalogue it anyway though."

"Already done," Seven said. "I have been doing so as I scan."

"Efficient," Chakotay said.

"Naturally," Seven said, allowing herself a bit of pride, though careful as always not to be too much so.

"Is there anything you ever just wing, Seven?" Chakotay asked in a jovial tone.

"Nothing I'm allowed to disclose," Seven said. Chakotay snorted.

"Okay, I walked right into that one," he said. He ran his own tricorder over the piece of ore that Seven had found the evidence for metallic life on.

"This piece of rock," he said, "is billions of years older than Earth. From a time when the galaxy was still forming. We're scanning a piece of history. Maybe even the beginnings of life itself."

"Put that way," Seven said, "perhaps I should show this a rock a bit more… reverence than I have."

"You're under no obligation to feel as excited about this as anyone else, Seven. I'm just hoping to convey why I'm excited. I get the feeling you don't always 'get' human behavior, even after all you've experienced."

"That is an accurate assessment, Commander," Seven said. "I apologize if I've been 'ruining your moment.'"

"Not at all," Chakotay said, before going back to scanning some of the other items. "You know, I could easily spend the rest of my life studying the stuff we find in here."

"And leave _Voyager_ without its First Officer?" Seven asked.

"I think you'd manage without me," he said, "but don't worry, I'm not actually going to leave. Just saying that I could. Paleontology was an early love of mine. I wonder why I let it slide as much as I have. I don't think I've ever even talked about it with anyone on the _Voyager_ crew, not that I can remember anyway."

"Not as many opportunities to take part in dig sites when one is constantly on the move," Seven said. "Were the journey to the Alpha Quadrant not the ship's priority, I imagine you would have had a number of opportunities."

"Good point," Chakotay said. "though even before then, it seemed like something would get in the way of pursuing it. Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were younger, Seven? Before you were assimilated, I mean."

"My memories of that time are sketchy," Seven admitted, "but from what I can recall, I wanted to be a dancer. A ballerina to be specific. That is why on our early dates, Samantha would often take me to live performances on the holodeck." Seven smiled as she remembered one performance in particular, the one where Sam had said "I love you" to her for the first time

"Have you pursued that interest in your spare time since then?" Chakotay asked.

"No," Seven said. "I no longer have the desire to perform." She sighed. "Just one more thing the Borg took from me I'm afraid."

"Sorry," Chakotay said. "Didn't mean to trigger any bad memories."

"No offense taken," Seven said. "Samantha and I have had similar conversations before. I am at least grateful that Naomi will likely not face the kinds of impediments to her own desires that I did."

"Amen to that," Chakotay said.

The com chirped, and Tom's voice filled the back room. "Head's up folks," he said. "I think we're getting close."

"On our way," Chakotay said, heading for the door back to the cockpit. Seven put down her tricorder, and followed close behind.

* * *

Chakotay took his seat as Tom began filling him in on what the _Delta Flyer's_ sensors had found.

"I've isolated the module," he said. "Bearing 39, Mark 1-5. There."

Chakotay looked out the viewport, and almost gasped at what he saw. It wasn't just the debris of the _Ares Four_ , it was the command module itself, largely whole, with only a few pieces floating around it.

"It appears to be largely intact," Seven said.

"I'm reading hull breaches and corrosion," Chakotay said, now looking down at his console. "All things considered though, it is very well preserved. I can honestly say I did not expect this much of it to be in one piece."

"Agreed," Seven said. "There is no way we would be able to fit that in our cargo bay."

"Not without breaking it up into smaller pieces," Tom said, "which I'm assuming we don't to do."

"You assume correctly, Ensign," Chakotay said. "We can use a tractor beam to tow it back to _Voyager_."

"We'd have to extend our shields around it to keep it from getting more damaged than it already is on the way out," Tom said. "Can we do that, Seven?"

"With some minor modifications, yes," Seven said.

Chakotay started to tell Seven to start working on that right away, but was cut off by the voice of Captain Janeway, hailing them from _Voyager_.

"Janeway to _Delta Flyer_. We've got a problem. The anamoly's on a collision course with a dark matter asteroid."

"Captain," Chakotay said, "we've located the Mars orbiter. We're adapting a tractor beam. Just give us a minute."

"You don't have it, get out of there. We have no idea how the ellipse will react when it collides with the asteroid."

Chakotay felt his heart sink, and glancing at Tom he could tell the helmsman felt the same way. "Is the tractor beam ready?" he said.

"About, sir," Tom said, "but-"

"Lock on to it and take us out," Chakotay said. It would be a risky maneuver, one that would probably get him chewed out by the captain later, but he wasn't willing to let this chance go, not yet. The view outside the forward viewport shifted as Tom maneuvered the _Flyer_ into position.

"Tractor beam engaged," he said.

"Good work, Tom," Chakotay said.

"Chakotay, you've got less than a minute," Janeway's voice said.

"Acknowledged," Chakotay said.

"The module is slowing us down," Tom said.

"Maintain tractor lock," Chakotay said. "Seven, how long until we clear the anomaly?"

"At our current speed, forty seconds," Seven said.

"We can do this," Chakotay said, the ship beginning to shudder as it approached the barrier.

"Chakotay, status," Janeway's voice said. Even through the static Chakotay could pick up on the concern in her voice.

"We're on our way," he said, not even needing to ask _Voyager_ to know that he was cutting it dangerously close.

"Almost-" Seven started to say, but was cut off when a shockwave hit the _Flyer_ , sending it flying backwards into the anomaly, the inertial dampeners barely managing to compensate and keep the G forces from rendering them all unconscious.

"Tom?" Chakotay said.

"The tractor beam was disconnected by whatever hit us," Tom said.

"The shockwave must've been the result of the dark matter asteroid colliding with the ellipse," Seven said. "Had our shields not held we likely would've been destroyed."

"The module?" Chakotay asked.

"Still there, looks like we took the worst of it."

" _Delta Flyer_ to _Voyager_ ," Chakotay said. No response.

"We've lost contact," Seven said. "I can't raise them. Propulsion is off-line as well."

Chakotay sighed. "Damn," he said. "This is my fault. I put collecting a historical artifact ahead of the safety of my team."

"I can't say I might not have done the same thing, Chakotay," Tom said. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Unless we die, then yeah, beat yourself up over it."

"Gentlemen," Seven said, "I suggest we focus on repairs. The anomaly is showing signs of returning to subspace. We have less than two hours."

"That might be enough time," Chakotay said, taking his own look at the damage report. "The engines are in really bad shape."

The ship shuddered, but not the shockwave this time.

"A gravimetric surge," Seven said. "They will only increase the closer the anomaly gets to its return to subspace."

* * *

The next twenty minutes were quiet and tense aboard the _Delta Flyer_ , but Seven of Nine did not let it get to her. She still did not care for prolonged silence, but she also knew that the situation required everyone's focus if they were to return to _Voyager._ There would be time to discuss how the mission could've gone differently later.

" _Voyager_ to _Delta Flyer_ ," Janeway's staticy voice said over the com system.

"Excellent," Seven said. "I was concerned that repair might not work. _Voyager_ , this is Seven of Nine. We read you."

"Are you alright? What's your status?"

"We've sustained heavy damage," Chakotay said. "but we're alive. It's good to hear your voice."

"Likewise," Janeway said. "Give me a full report."

Chakotay did so, not leaving out why the _Delta Flyer_ had not exited the anomaly as quickly as it could've. "Captain," he said, "I take full responsibility for-"

"We'll discuss that later," Janeway said. "Right now, let's focus on saving your lives."

"We're open to any ideas, Captain," Tom said.

"We're working on that. Stand by."

* * *

Chakotay looked at the chronometer. Only eighty-two minutes left, and still no solution. Each passing minute only increased his self-loathing. If he'd been on this shuttle alone that would be one thing, but thanks to him not one but two of _Voyager's_ best crewmembers were about to lose someone they loved. Tragedy compounding upon tragedy. At least with the comm channel open again they'd all get a chance to say goodbye if the worst came to pass.

"It may be possible to modify a tractor beam to cut through the gravimetric interference," Tuvok said.

"You'll never be able to get it all the way through to the core," Harry Kim said.

"Start working on it anyway," Janeway said.

"You said all the energy conduits are fused?" B'Elanna said.

"Correct," Seven said. "We can't get any power to the engines."

"If the replicators were working we could whip up a new plasma manifold and be on our way," Tom said.

"Tom, this isn't the time to be sarcastic," B'Elanna said "we're trying to… hang on, I've just been sent a message to my PADD. It's anonymous for some reason, why would…"

There was a long enough silence that Chakotay was afraid they'd lost the connection to _Voyager_ again.

"Well I'll be damned," B'Elanna said. "How does an old plasma manifold sound?"

"What?" Tom said.

"The message I got. It said the power distribution system on the _Area Four_ module isn't that different from the _Flyer's_ I ran a check on the schematics. It won't be pretty, and the manifold would probably be burnt out by the time you got back, but it could be enough to get you out of there."

"Where is it on the module?" Tom asked.

"In a control panel in the main cockpit," B'Elanna said. "I'm send the relevant schematic to you now. It was called an ion distributor. With just a few tweaks it could be modified to channel warp plasma."

"Do you have enough power to beam one of you to the module?" Janeway said.

"Yes, Captain," Tom said. "I'll go."

"No," Chakotay said. "I'll do it. I got us into this mess, it's my responsibility to get us out."

"And besides," Janeway said, "If another gravimetric surge hits we'll need you at the helm."

"Seven," Chakotay said, standing up and moving towards the back of the _Flyer_. "help me into an EVA suit and beam me over to the module."

"Understood," Seven said, getting up follow him. Once they were in the back, Chakotay quickly began getting into the suit while Seven checked to make sure the oxygen tank was fully connected and fully stocked.

"Let me know when we are ready, Seven," he said. He felt somewhat nervous. A part of him felt he didn't deserve this chance to set foot on the _Ares Four_ , a piece of Earth history, when he had so nearly gotten his shipmate's killed trying to retrieve it. "Perhaps you should go instead," he said, the guilt getting to him as he reached for the helmet.

"Commander," Seven said, "don't allow your desire for penance to cloud your judgement. Apart from Mister Paris, you are the one most qualified to complete this mission. Don't use your guilt as an excuse to let me take away something that is rightfully yours."

"You make that sound like an order, Ensign," Chakotay said.

"Write me up for insubordination when we return to _Voyager_. The suit's systems are all nominal. We can begin transport at any time."

Chakotay affixed the helmet, turned on the suit's wrist-mounted flashlight, and gave the order to energize. Within seconds, he was inside the _Ares Four_ module, the first living human to have done so in over three hundred years.

"Well, here I am," Chakotay said, as he took out a tricorder and began scanning for the ion distributor. He also looked for a data port of some kind. Perhaps, if there was time, and if the module's computer had held up well enough over the centuries, he could download all sorts of data that would be great for the history books.

He almost gasped when his light shone on the center chair of the cockpit. There sat the body of Lieutenant John Kelly. It was remarkably well preserved, even considering the conditions on the module. He wondered if perhaps he could bring it back with him, so the astronaut could be given a proper funeral, but first things first. He attached a portable battery device to the ship's computer, giving it the energy it would need to run. An active data file containing log entries from Kelly opened, but he muted the sound right away. He set his tricorder to begin a background downloading of the files while he continued to look for the distributor.

 _Perhaps_ , he thought, _at the end of the day all of this, even the risk, will have been worth it._

It took Chakotay a moment to realize that he had seen the timestamp on the recording before he'd paused it. "Tom," he said, "did you hear that sound before I muted it?"

"Yeah," Tom said over the suit's com. "Was that a recording of Lieutenant Kelly?"

"Yes," Chakotay said.

"Thought so."

"Tom, that log entry was recorded inside the ellipse."

"For real?"

"I'm surprised too," Chakotay said. "Just like his crew on Mars, I'd assumed he'd been killed instantly. I'm downloading the files now while I'm still searching for that ion distributor."

"Wow. Just, wow," Tom said. Chakotay had to echo the sentiment.

* * *

B'Elanna Torres entered engineering. As was usually the case during a situation such a rescue op, all hands were on deck, including people for whom this was not their assigned shift. In some cases engineers were here on their day off, but not the one who she wanted to talk to. PADD in hand, she went over to a console where Ensign Vorik and Marla Gilmore were going over a simulation of tractor beam modifications.

"Marla," B'Elanna said, "can I talk to you for a second?"

The former _Equinox_ engineer looked nervous, and for a moment turned to Vorik, as if she expected him to protect her.

"Yes, ma'am," Marla said. "I'm sorry if I shouldn't be here, but Mister Carey told me this was an all hands-"

"It is," B'Elanna said. "And stop looking like you're expecting a punch in the face already, you're making me sad."

"Ma'am?"

"Look, I just want you to know," B'Elanna handed the PADD to Marla, whose eyes went wide when she realized what was on it, "I think I know why you felt like you couldn't take credit for your idea regarding using the ion distributor on the _Ares Four_."

Marla looked back on Vorik, who raised his hands.

"I did not inform her, as per your request," he said.

"Then how did-"

"You did a shitty job of covering your tracks," B'Elanna said. "I can see why you chose the Engineering Corp over Starfleet Intelligence. Took me all of two minutes to figure out who sent this."

"I apologize, Lieutenant Torres," Marla said, her face turning red.

"In the future, Gilmore, if you have an idea to bring to the table just bring it. I get that you feel guilt about what you did on the _Equinox_ , but that's a good thing. Bad people don't feel guilty, they just make excuses. And as for your face, so long as you remain Marla Gilmore and don't magically turn into Maxwell Burke, you don't have to worry about me punching it."

"Um, thank you?" Marla said.

"We're in touch with the _Delta Flyer_ ," B'Elanna said. "So far the plan seems to be working. Just thought you should know. Good work, Gilmore."

* * *

Chakotay had finally found what he was looking for, along with some other smaller items that he stowed in pouches on the suit, including a picture of Lieutenant Kelly and his wife. That was the good news.

"Bad news," he said. "I've found the distributor but it's fused to the hull. I'm trying to remove it without damaging it."

"Hate to rush you," Tom said, "but we've only got fifteen minutes left."

"Working on it," Chakotay said. "In the meantime, I've found Kelly's last log entry. I can play it over the com."

"Go ahead," Tom said. "Not much for Seven and me to do until you get back apart from keeping the _Flyer_ level."

Chakotay reached over and flipped a switch on the console, and the video began playing.

"All systems go. Watch me, Dad. I'm flying," Kelly said, just before making a noise imitating a crash landing. "Bad landing. Call a MedEvac team. John Kelly's first flight, not exactly A-OK. Remember that, Dad? Jumped off the roof with a parachute made out of blankets. I guess I didn't calculate the aerodynamics. Of course, I was only six. I guess this is John Kelly's last flight. This time, I can't blame it on pilot error. This time, no regrets. What I've seen proves we were right to come out here. We're not alone, I know that now. The module's losing power. I'm taking life support off-line. Re-routing whatever's left to the imager. Keep it running as long as possible. Mission Control... Dad... Whoever finds this... Do me a favor. Take all the data I've collected. Put it to good use. I hope you don't look at this as a failure. I don't. Actually, I do have one regret. I never found out who won the World Series. I'm tired. And I can't..."

"That's it," Chakotay said. "It goes blank after that. I- wait, hang on. Yes, I've got the distributor, and the download of Kelly's database is almost complete."

"Hurry, Commander," Seven said. "We're running out of time."

"Good thing I had this running the whole time then. Just a few more seconds, and… Done! Beam me back. No, wait, hang on one second." Chakotay fumbled in one of the suit's pouches and found a spare comm badge. Most Starfleet suits had one, just in case. "Lock on to my comm badge as well as the suit's back-up. We're bringing Lieutenant Kelly home with us."

"Aye, sir," Tom said.

* * *

Janeway paced back and forth on _Voyager's_ bridge, waiting for an update from the crew members on the _Delta Flyer_.

"Paris to _Voyager_ ," Tom's voice came through with a bit of static, but understandable.

"Report," Janeway said.

"We're trying to integrate the distributor. Stand by, Captain."

"How long do they have?" Janeway asked Tuvok.

"Four minutes," he said.

After a silence that Janeway could swear she actually felt more than heard, Tom's voice came through again.

"Paris to _Voyager_ , open the shuttle bay doors, we're coming home.

"Yes," Harry said cheerfully.

"Acknowledged," Janeway said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Laying in an escape trajectory," Tom said, "and away we-" The sound of sparking in the background made Janeway tense up again.

"The anomaly is beginning to return to subspace," Tuvok said.

"The _Flyer_?" she said.

"Eighteen hundred meters from the perimeter," Harry said. "They're cutting it close but it looks like they're going to make it."

"Captain, the anomaly's submerging faster than anticipated!" B'Elanna shouted from the auxiliary engineering console.

"Tuvok, are we in tractor range?"

"Not quite. We would need to get three hundred meters closer," he said.

"Do it," Janeway said.

"That's dangerously close, ma'am," Harry said.

"Full reverse thrusters once we have a lock on the _Flyer_ ," she said. "We can do this."

 _Voyager_ shuddered as they moved closer to the graviton ellipse, space around it looking as it had on the viewscreen when it was first appearing.

"I have them, Captain," Tuvok said, several tense seconds later.

"Good work. Now get us out of here."

* * *

"So in the end, we collected sixty teraquads of data on the anomaly," Seven told Sam as they walked toward the turbolift side by side.

"Impressive work, Annie."

"The entire team deserves credit for the effort," Seven said.

"Well, still," Sam said.

"Will you be joining us on the bridge for the ceremony?"

"I don't think so," Sam said. "I've never been good at funerals. Even if it was for someone I never met. It's good that Lieutenant Kelly is going to get a proper one though. His poor family back on Earth, three hundred years ago, they probably had a memorial service, but without a body I imagine for some of them it made it hard to accept."

"Well, since I am attending, I suppose this is where we part ways until lunch." Seven gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. "I will see you later."

"See ya," Sam said, turning to head back the way they come, as Seven continued on to the turbolift to the bridge.

Once there, Seven moved to join the rest of the senior staff as they gathered around Kelly's remains, which had been put into a photon torpedo casing draped in a Starfleet Command flag.

"Are we ready to begin?" Janeway said.

"The ceremony is being broadcast shipwide, Captain," Harry said.

"Very well," Janeway said, clearing her throat before continuing.

"Space. Literally it means 'nothing.' A vacuum between stars and planets, but by the same token it means "everything." It's what connects all our worlds; Vulcan, Qo'noS, Talax, Earth. Centuries ago mankind sent its first wave of explorers into that void, astronauts like Mister Kelly. They paved the way for the first colonies, the first starships for those of us who've made space our home. We commend the spirit and the bravery of Lieutenant John Mark Kelly as we commit his body to space. He will not be forgotten. Oh, and one last thing. I don't know if Mister Kelly can hear us now, but on the off-chance he can…" Janeway smiled as she put her hand on the torpedo casing. "The Yankees, in Game Six."

 **Chapter Five**

Seven of Nine stepped out of her alcove, fully recharged, and was greeted upon opening her eyes by the smiling face of her wife.

"Morning, Sam," she said.

"Morning, Annie," Samantha said. "Feeling better today?"

"Much," Seven said. "An extra day of regeneration was, as the Doctor said, exactly what I needed."

"And hopefully you've learned a valuable lesson," Samantha said.

"A few actually," Seven said. "The most significant one of course being not to attempt to download an entire starship's memory banks into your brain all at once. I am embarrassed that I did not foresee the unfortunate side effects of that."

"That's a nice way of putting it,' Samantha said, now walking next to Seven as the two of them left the cargo bay.

"I will say in my defense," Seven added, "that I was not acting entirely irrational. My conclusions were based on the facts I had at hand. It was the lack of proper context that led to my more, well, paranoid pronouncements."

Samantha laughed, and Seven gave her a look.

"Sorry," Samantha said, "I know I shouldn't have laughed. I just, you know, I love your gift for understatement."

Seven rolled her eyes. "I choose to take that as a compliment," she said. "Anyway, that also was one of my lessons; that facts without context are meaningless."

"It's one of the perils of being human, love," Samantha said. "Our ability to recognize patterns allowed us to survive and thrive beyond our early days of dwelling in caves, but sadly that means sometimes we see patterns where they aren't."

"That is certainly something I need to be more careful of in the future," Seven said.

"I don't think you have to worry that much," Samantha said. "There were extenuating circumstances after all."

"The cortical processing subunit I installed? Yes, well, in hindsight that was clearly a mistake. I have uninstalled it however. From now on I will digest newly acquired data the 'old fashioned way;' by reading."

"It has worked pretty well for us so far," Samantha said, winking.

"Speaking of reading," Seven said, "Mister Paris sent a number of documents to my personal PADD this morning regarding someplace on Earth called Roswell, New Mexico. Do you have any idea why he-" Seven's question was cut off with a groan from Samantha.

"That cheeky little… Don't read that, trust me. I'll talk to Tom. That was not funny, he shouldn't have done that."

Seven stopped walking and tilted her head in confusion. "Sammy, why do I get the feeling that by 'talk to' you mean 'yell at?'"

* * *

"Neelix, get off of there," Lieutenant Reginald Barclay said, turning away from his apartment window looking out over the San Francisco Bay, and yelling at his cat. The cat complied, albeit slowly and not without a soft grunt, and leapt off the top bookshelf where Barclay kept all his PADDs related to the Pathfinder project, as well as a 1/200th scale model of the U.S.S. _Voyager_. The last thing Barclay wanted was to have to pick all that stuff up, especially since his guests would be arriving any moment.

For the fourth time in ten minutes, he checked to make sure the food he'd prepared was coming along nicely. He didn't need to cook, his replicator worked just fine, and in fact he had used it for the ingredients, but since having moved to Earth after leaving the _Enterprise_ , he found that cooking soothed his nerves.

The door chime sounded, and Barclay smiled as he told the computer to open the door to welcome two of his old friends. He tilted his head though when he realized that one of the two people entering his apartment was not who he expected.

"Commander LaForge, I didn't realize you'd be joining us. I'd have made more food," Barclay said.

"Actually," Geordi LaForge said, "I'm filling in."

"Will's father was hurt in a shuttle accident," Deanna Troi said. "It's not serious, but Will wanted to check in on him anyway. He sends his apologies."

"Oh dear," Barclay said to. "Well, send my regards to Commander Riker when you see him next."

"I will," Troi said.

"Commander," Barclay said, now looking at Geordi. "It's good to see you again, but I'd assumed you'd be busy overseeing the new upgrades to the Enterprise."

Geordi laughed. "Well I planned to be, but Starfleet's R&D people decided I was being too overbearing and basically kicked me out of my own engine room. I suppose I can't blame them, but empathy needs to go both ways. How would they feel about a bunch of strangers poking around their ship?"

"Well I'm sure it's all for the best," Barclay said, smiling. "The flagship of the fleet should always be in tip-top shape."

"I can drink to that," Geordi said. "If you have anything that is."

"Nothing stronger than synthehol," Barclay said. "I do a lot of work on Pathfinder in my off-time; don't want to risk impairing my judgement."

"I'm glad you brought that up," Troi said. "I'd heard about the project to try and contact _Voyager_. How's that coming along?"

"Not terribly well," Barclay admitted. "Commander Harkins refuses to allow me use of the MIDAS array to test my new plan."

"Why do you need MIDAS?" Geordi asked.

"The idea I had," Barclay said, "was to use it to direct a tachyon beam at a class B itinerant pulsar, with enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial wormhole."  
Geordi's eyes widened, enough that even from several feet away Barclay could see the ocular implants adjusting. "That's pretty ambitious, Reg, I like it."

"Forgive me for interrupting," Troi said, "but I'm not familiar with the MIDAS array."

"Oh, sorry," Barclay said. "It's the Mutara Interdimensional Deep-Space-Transponder Array System. I know the acronym isn't an exact fit, but Commander Harkins called me 'nitpicky' when I brought that up."

"It's a way to make communications travel even faster than they do now, basically." Geordi said. "Tachyon communication is good enough for us for now, but as exploration takes us out even further into the galaxy, and with the Gamma Quadrant open to us now after the war, we need new ways to be able to keep in touch with ships and bases in a timely fashion."

"And you think," Troi said, looking at Barclay, "that this micro-wormhole could allow us to speak to _Voyager_ again?"

"At least briefly," Barclay said.

"Better than nothing," Geordi said.

"But that's only if i can convince Commander Harkins and Admiral Paris to go along with my theory," Barclay said. "Unfortunately, Harkins thinks I've relapsed on my holo-addiction, and he's convinced the Admiral of the same, so he doesn't trust me."

"Why would they think that?" Troi said.

"You see my cat over there?" Barclay said. "I named him Neelix. After the alien crewmember that _Voyager_ picked up in the Delta Quadrant. They included him in the information their EMH was able to provide us. I've spent a lot of time reading about the crew of _Voyager_. Pete, that's Commander Harkins' first name, he thinks I've become obsessed with _Voyager_."

"Over a cat's name?" Geordi said.

"That, and the fact that I've been using a holodeck simulation of the ship itself to run simulations on my theories," Barclay said.

Troi shook her head. "That's ridiculous. The line between interest and obsession can be thin sometimes, sure, but I think your commander is overreacting." She turned to look at Geordi. "Do you think we should talk to him?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Barclay said. "I don't want him to think I'm trying to use my time on the _Enterprise_ as a cudgel to get what I want."

"I get it," Troi said. "You're worried about coming off as arrogant and entitled. But having one commander not like you seems like a small price to pay if it means that Starfleet can talk to one its lost crews again."

Barclay looked down at the drink in his hand, having forgotten that he'd even poured it. He felt that she was right, on both counts. The fact was, he didn't talk much about his time on the _Enterprise_. It always felt too much like bragging. She was also right that they were more important things in the galaxy than being afraid that strangers would think you had a big ego.

"Okay," he said. "So, how do we want to handle this?"

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Tom Paris said, smiling as Seven of Nine read the PADD that he had handed her while the two were in the mess hall for lunch.

"You want my opinion on your new holodeck program? Why?" she said.

"I'm asking a lot of people actually," Tom said. "Diversity of opinion and all that."

"Very well. In brief, your simulation, while visually accurate, is filled with characters based on broad stereotypes that could be seen as offensive by any humans on this ship who may have Irish ancestry."

Tom frowned. "Well, it's not meant to be historically accurate," he said. "I just meant it as a place where the crew could unwind."

"The crew already has multiple options in that regard," Seven said. "Including the Chez Sandrine program that you also created."

"Nobody really uses that program anymore," Tom said. "I think people got bored with it. Last time I was in there the only non-holograms around were you and Sam."

"There was also Insurrection Alpha," Seven said.

"Which most people stopped using after the program tried to kill me and Tuvok."

"The cabana program?"

"Harry and Neelix still use that one sometimes," Tom admitted, "but it's not all that popular anymore either."

Seven sighed. "I concede your point."

"Do you have any suggestions then?"

Seven thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps a recreation of Ibiza? It is an island off the coast of Spain on Earth."

"That was where you and Sam spent your fake honeymoon on the NX-01 mission right? Yeah, that could work. The way Sam describe the beaches there… It might be a little too close to the old cabana program though."

"It is your program, Mister Paris, the final decision is yours. I merely offered the input that I was asked for."

"That you did. Thanks, Seven," Tom said, finishing his coffee before getting up and leaving. Seven finished her own beverage and meal and left to head to astrometrics. She hoped that when she got there to perform her assigned task for today, teaching _Equinox_ survivor Noah Lessing how to operate the lab, that she would be able to remain completely professional. After all, Noah was the one who had shot her in the back in _Equinox_ 's engineering.

* * *

Barclay's apartment had been silent too long. Even the cat had gone quiet, which meant he was either asleep or getting into trouble. The three Starfleet officers had spent the last ten hours going over Barclay's plans regarding the MIDAS array and the plan to contact _Voyager_.

Troi said something that Barclay had considered, but didn't want to admit could put his plan in jeopardy.

"Based on _Voyager's_ location when they contacted Starfleet two years ago," she said, "they had already managed to trim at least a decade off their journey home, right?"

"Correct," Barclay said. "When one of the passengers they picked up, Kes I think her name was, used her developing psionic powers to help _Voyager_ bypass Borg space."

"Right," Troi said. "But who's to say that _Voyager_ didn't find other ways to shave off even more time in the interim? All the projections on where they might be in the Delta Quadrant now are based on the assumptions that they've only been going in a handful of directions at a speed lower than the maximum cruising speed an Intrepid-class ship can go, which is, warp 9 right?"

"9.975," Geordi said, "but they can't hold that speed indefinitely, they would need to slow down occasionally just to keep from burning out the dilithium crystals."

"True, but even so, Harkins' projections don't account for them ever going at that speed. He's being too conservative in his estimates," Troi said. "This isn't even my field of expertise and I can tell that."

"If we can solve the power issue," Barclay said, "that won't matter. We can try multiple times. We can just start with Pete's projections of where _Voyager_ is and work our way out from there. We've got our pulsar, we've got our array, how do we get our wormhole is the question."

"Yeah," Geordi said, rubbing his eyes. "We are talking about a massive subspace reaction here."

Barclay snapped his fingers. "Massive. That's it, that's the problem!"

"Reg?" Geordi said.

"Maybe we need to think smaller. How much bandwidth do we really need? The average wormhole is huge, but if we compress the data stream we wouldn't need a conduit anywhere near as big."

"A micro-wormhole," Geordi said. "Good idea. So good in fact it's a wonder none of us thought of it sooner."

"I'm a psychiatrist, not an engineer," Troi said. "There's no way I would've thought of it."

"The outside perspective helps, trust me," Barclay said. "In fact I think Pathfinder could stand to have a few non-engineers on staff, but that's a topic for another time."

"We still need to work out the details," Geordi said, "but if we can do that, we'd have a solid plan to present to Commander Harkins and Admiral Paris."

"We'll need to do it fast," Troi said. "The _Enterprise_ leaves tomorrow morning."

"I'll talk to the Captain," Geordi said, looking at Troi. "I'm sure he'd be willing to extend shore leave in this instance."

Barclay smiled. He did feel some guilt, a voice in the back of his head telling him he was taking advantage of his friends' status as Federation celebrities to get his way, but it was overwhelmed by excitement. If all of this worked, he would get to speak to the crew of the _Voyager_ , the most famous missing starship in almost a century. How could he pass that up?

* * *

Seven of Nine was consciously aware that she was in no danger around Noah Lessing. Yes, he had shot her once before, and she didn't forgive him for that, but she also knew it wasn't personal. Since then, Lessing had integrated into the crew of _Voyager_. Not as successfully as Gilmore, or Sofin, or Morrow perhaps, but far more so than Tassoni. He did his job, he showed up for shifts on time, and he didn't carry a phaser.

 _So why am I still concerned that he's going to shoot me in the back again?_ She thought. _It is a completely illogical fear._

"I've completed the first round of diagnostics," Lessing said. "Everything is in working order, ma'am."

"Very well," Seven said, not bothering to double check. She had observed Lessing's progress while he did his work. "Your tasks were completed well ahead of the allotted time. You may leave early if you wish."

"Not much point," he said. "I'm still not allowed to use the holodeck, and I don't really feel like hitting the ship's gym."

"What you choose to do with your free time is none of my concern," Seven said.

"You're right, it's not," Lessing said. "I guess I should consider myself lucky to have any free time, all things considered."

"Perhaps you should," Seven said.

Lessing simply nodded. Seven wondered what the man was thinking. He didn't seem to be trying to earn a chance at redemption the way the majority of his surviving crewmates were, but he wasn't openly hostile and insistent that killing the Ankari 'spirits' was justified like Angelo Tassoni still did, even all these months later. His apparent apathy bothered her, though she couldn't explain why. She was prepared to finally just ask, when something on the astrometrics lab screen caught her attention.

"Is that a micro-wormhole?" Lessing said.

"I believe you are correct," Seven said. She began tapping buttons on the console to redirect sensors to do a more thorough scan of the micro-wormhole. "And it would appear as message is being transmitted through it."

"To whom?" Lessing said.

"It's on a Starfleet emergency channel," Seven said, looking down at her console.

Lessing smiled for, as far as Seven knew, the first time since before Captain Ransom's crimes had been revealed.

"Wow," he said.

Seven tapped her com badge and told the Captain what she had discovered.

"Let's hear it," Janeway said, and Seven quickly complied, applying a narrow band filter to the signal processor in order to improve the quality of the message.

"Starfleet Command to _U.S.S. Voyager_ ," a voice said, the transmission full of static but still audible. "Come in _Voyager_. Do you hear me? This is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay."

"Captain," Seven said, "we must respond quickly, the wormhole is collapsing."

* * *

"This is our third try, and still nothing. The micro-wormhole is collapsing. I'm sorry Mister Barclay, I just don't think this is working," Commander Peter Harkins said. Barclay was disappointed, but he could tell by looking around the room he wasn't the only one. All of his fellow Pathfinder team mates, Deanna, Geordi, Admiral Paris, all had similar looks on their faces.

"The pulsar has not moved out of position yet," Geordi said. "I think we can squeeze a few more attempts out of it, but the power consumption might not allow for-"

A noise cut him off.

"We're receiving a transmission," one of the Pathfinder techs said.

"Where from?" Admiral Paris said.

"Coordinates 343.6 by 27," the tech said.

Barclay and Harkins shared a look.

"The wormhole," Barclay said.

"It worked," Troi said, smiling.

"Starfleet Command, come in," a barely audible voice said over the speakers. Barclay recognized the voice right away from the _Voyager_ crew records he'd gone over.

"Reg," Harkins said, "give me a hand clearing up the signal."

"Yes sir," Barclay said, moving quickly to a nearby console and manipulating controls. He was excited and nervous, yet his hands were steady and his work efficient.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, do you read me?"

Barclay looked at Harkins who was simply smiling.

"I think she's talking to you," Admiral Paris said, having moved closer to stand next to him.

"Captain," Barclay said, suddenly afraid that he would start stammering again, "this is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay at Starfleet Command."

"It's good to hear your voice, Lieutenant," Janeway said. "We've been waiting a long time for this moment."

"The feeling is mutual," Barclay continued, "Unfortunately the micro-wormhole is collapsing. We have only a few moments."

"Understood," Janeway said. We are transmitting our ship's logs, crew reports, and navigational records to you now."

"Acknowledged," Barclay said. "And we're sending you data on some new hyper-subspace technology. We're hoping that, eventually, we can use it to keep in regular contact. We're also including some recommended modifications for your com system."

"We'll implement them as soon as possible," Janeway said.

"There is someone else who would also like to say something," Barclay said, motioning towards Admiral Paris.

"This is Admiral Paris," he said.

"Hello sir," Janeway said. "Been a long time."

"How are your people holding up?"

"Very well," Janeway said. "As someone pointed out to me recently, we could've had it much, much worse out here. But we've made it as far as we have thanks to an exemplary crew, including your son."

"Tell him… Tell him I miss him, and I'm proud of him."

"He heard you," Janeway said.

"The wormhole is collapsing," Barclay said.

"I want you all to know," Admiral Paris said, "we're doing everything we can to bring you home."

"We appreciate it, sir," Janeway said. "We've had some good luck on our end lately though, we may end up making it home before you even-"

The transmission became garbled, and ended. However Janeway intended to end that sentence, they would likely never know.

"You did it, Reg," Geordi said. "Great work."

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Harkins said. Barclay nodded, and sighed. Troi walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you sad, Reg?"

"Because… Because it's over, Deanna," Barclay said.

"No, Lieutenant," Admiral Paris said, smiling. "Project Pathfinder may be over, but Project Voyager is just beginning. And I want you on that. I assume I don't have to make it an order?"

"You do not, sir." Barclay said. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Darn," Geordi said in a joking tone of voice. "And here I was thinking of asking you to come back to the _Enterprise_."

* * *

"So, does anyone know this Barclay character?" B'Elanna said as Neelix topped off her glass of champagne in _Voyager'_ s mess hall. The senior staff, along with some other crewmembers, including Samantha Wildman and Joe Carey, were attending a celebration of the contact with Starfleet.

"I took the liberty of reviewing his personnel file," the Doctor said. "He's had a rather colorful career. Not to mention an unusual medical history."

"I don't think you're allowed to tell us about that Doc," Tom Paris said.

"I'm not saying anything that's not available to anyone with Starfleet clearances," the Doctor said.

"All the same," Captain Janeway said, "let's respect our new honorary crew member's privacy shall we? Maybe one day he'll have the chance to tell us his story in person."

"Hear hear," Carey said, raising his glass.

"I've finished analyzing the data Mister Barclay sent," Seven said, her arms around Samantha's waist. "The hyper-subspace technology is promising. I believe we can look forward to future communications with the Federation."

"Well that calls for a toast," Neelix said.

"Care to do the honors, Tom?" Janeway said.

B'Elanna looked at Tom, who seemed reluctant. She poked him gently in the arm. "Go on," she said.

Tom took in a deep breath and raised his glass. "To my Dad, Admiral Owen Paris, it's nice to know he's still there; and to the newest honorary member of the _Voyager_ crew; Reginald Barclay, whoever you are."

"To Mister Barclay," Janeway said, the rest of the crew members joining in, even Seven of Nine.

* * *

Barclay, Troi, Geordi all stood in the center of the living room of Barclay's apartment, holding drinks of their own.

"To _Voyager_ ," Geordi said, the other two repeating him before taking a sip.

"I couldn't have done it without your help," Barclay said. "Thank you."

"Thanks for letting us help you," Troi said. "Though we all understand why you were reluctant."

"I just wish Hope was here right now," Barclay said.

"Who's Hope?" Geordi said.

"I didn't mention her?" Barclay said.

"Not once since we got here," Geordi said, smirking. "Nice of you to wait until we're almost leaving to tell us you're seeing someone, Reg."

"Sorry, I got so wrapped up in talking about Pathfinder and _Voyager_ , it just kind of slipped my mind. Besides, we've only gone a few dates, it's too soon really to know where it's going."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine," Troi said. "What can you tell us about her?"

"Well, Pete introduced us actually," Barclay said. "She's his wife's sister."

Troi and Geordi looked at each other.

"I honestly did not expect that," Geordi said.

"Should I have mentioned that sooner?" Barclay said.

"Eh, probably not," Troi said. "I don't think it really had any bearing on the project-"

The sound of the door chime interrupted her.

"Come in," Barclay said, expecting it to be Commander Harkins. He turned around, and saw immediately that he was wrong.

"Lieutenant Barclay, sorry I'm so late," Commander William Riker said. "I just got back from seeing my Dad. I hope I didn't miss anything interesting."

 **Chapter Six**

Harry Kim looked around at his tired, grimy, and frankly smelly crewmates, but despite the conditions inside the _Delta Flyer_ , he was just glad that they would back on _Voyager_ in a matter of hours. The two week long mission to collect dilithium ore from various planets that he, Chakotay, Tom Paris, and Neelix had been on had taken longer than planned, but had also been uneventful.

"I still think you should put a sonic shower in here, Tom," Neelix said.

"Where?" Tom said. Harry could not see Tom's face from where he was sitting, but he didn't think it was a stretch to assume that Tom was rolling his eyes at the suggestion. "We'd have to sacrifice something to make room for it."

"Well," Neelix continued, "you never know when the _Flyer_ might be away from _Voyager_ for extended periods of time, like this one."

"Just drop it," Chakotay said, rubbing his eyes. "We've had this conversation twice today already."

"If I ever volunteer for a two-week away mission again," Tom said, "somebody confine me to sickbay."

"I must be getting soft in my old age," Neelix said.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Let's face it my friends, we're not that dirty in here. I used to work on a salvage ship, this is nothing. And yet, I've been complaining all day anyway."

"Gee, really? We hadn't noticed," Tom said bitterly.

Harry glanced at his console. "You know, Tom," he said, "if you weren't so wrapped up in being pissed at Neelix you'd notice that _Voyager_ is within visual range."

" _Delta Flyer_ to _Voyager_ ," Chakotay said, relief permeating his voice. "We're on our approach."

"Glad to hear we didn't have to go looking for you," Janeway said in reply. "Opening the shuttlebay doors now. Welcome home. Was the mission a success?"

"We've got a cargo hold overflowing with dilithium ore as we speak," Tom said.

"That's the kind of news I like to hear," Janeway said.

"Take us in, Ensign," Chakotay said to Tom. Harry smiled, glad to back. He happened to look at his hand as the _Flyer_ headed for the open door of the shuttlebay and frowned. He noticed that his hand was shaking for no apparent reason. He made a mental note to speak to the Doctor about that, but he wanted a meal and a shower first.

* * *

"The explorer's return," the Doctor said as Tom and the others exited the shuttlebay.

"Welcome home," B'Elanna said, wrapping her arms around Tom's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Mmm, I should go away more often," he said, "if it means I get more greetings like this."

B'Elanna chuckled. "Not a terrible idea," she said, "but next time maybe I should wait until you've had a shower to do that."

Tom rolled his eyes, but laughed anyway. "Nice."

"Judging from the fact that you all appear to ambulatory," the Doctor said, "I'll go ahead and return to sickbay, but don't forget to come by for your check-up, after you've had something to eat of course."

"Right," Harry said, "away team protocol for extended missions, I forgot."

"Don't worry," Chakotay said, "we'll all be there."

With that, everyone went their separate ways, leaving Tom and B'Elanna alone.

"Come with me," she said, gently pulling on his arm, leading in the direction they'd need to go to reach his quarters, where he was going to be headed anyway. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Naughty or nice?" Tom said.

"When we get to the door, close your eyes," she said.

"Oh, I like it already," Tom said.

"Come on," B'Elanna said.

With eyes closed, Tom entered his own quarters, wondering just what his girlfriend had in store for him.

"Open 'em," B'Elanna said.

Tom opened his eyes, but couldn't see anything different at first, until he turned his head slightly to his right. He smiled at what he saw. In fact he could hardly believe what he saw.

"What do you think?" B'Elanna said.

"A television set!" Tom said, his inner history buff filled with child like glee.

"Circa 1956," B'Elanna said. "I replicated the components but I assembled it myself. This," she added, picking up a smaller device off the table between the couch, which Tom only just now noticed had turned in order to face the replica TV, "is the remote control. Yes, I checked, remote controls did exist back then. The only thing I left off was the wire connecting it to the set. One less thing for me trip over if we have to get up in a hurry."

"Okay, fair enough," Tom said, though he didn't really mind that minor detail being inaccurate. It was a television set on a starship, the situation was already well beyond what 20th century Earth had been like.

"Here, let me turn it on for you," B'Elanna said, pushing one of the buttons on the remote. An animated program appeared on the screen. It was in color, another historical inaccuracy, but Tom didn't feel like pointing it out, and the longer he thought about it, the more he didn't particularly care.

"I replicated us some popcorn as well," B'Elanna said, picking up a bowl full of the snack food off the table.

"Aw," Tom said, quickly grabbing a few kernels to pop into his mouth. It had gone a little cold, but was still as salty and buttery as the kind he used to get from his home's replicator as a kid, when he thought his parents weren't looking. "Everything is perfect, except for one tiny detail."

"What?"

"You forgot the beer," Tom said.

B'Elanna frowned. "Really? Fine, I'll get it," she said, getting up and heading to the replicator.

Tom began eating more popcorn while changing channels on the set. He wondered if B'Elanna had used any of the programs he'd downloaded from the _Relativity's_ database in order to fill the gaps in _Voyager's_ own database about the period.

 _Thank goodness for time travel_ , he thought. _Without it, some of this art from that period would be lost to us forever. Not that many people would miss the sitcoms, but still_.

"Tom?" B'Elanna said. "Did you hear anything I just said, or are you already too wrapped up in your new toy?"

"Oh, sorry," Tom said, feeling embarrassed that he'd allowed his train of thought to distract him so thoroughly. As he usually did, he tried to deflect with humor. "You know how it was on these old TV shows. Guys never listened to their girlfriends."

B'Elanna sighed. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Time passed, Tom going back and forth between paying attention to the TV, and paying attention to B'Elanna. Eventually, she fell asleep on the couch, but Tom decided to continue watching television, even though there were way more programs than he could possibly watch in one evening and it wasn't as though the device was going to be taken away in the morning.

A war scene came on, and Tom was briefly confused.

 _Wasn't I just watching Elliot Ness?_ He thought.

Despite the confusion, he continued to watch raptly, but then he saw something very strange; the combatants were using energy weapons.

"What the shit is this?" he said. He began pushing buttons on the remote control, but nothing happened. He suddenly felt very nervous. The scenes he was watching now, though in black and white and on an anachronistic device, felt all too real. Tom quietly moved over to the TV and tried to change the channel manually, but he gasped when the image on the screen shifted to show himself, hiding in cover from fire from the energy weapons. He watched himself get up and start running through a wooded area, ducking fire and returning it with a weapon just like the ones the aliens in the scene were carrying.

He looked back at B'Elanna, who was still asleep, and wondered if this was some kind of prank, but he pushed the thought out of his head as quickly as he'd had it; this was real, he just knew it, somehow.

Suddenly, the weapons fire grew louder, as if it was all around him on not on TV, and just before a wave of enemy fire could hit him he went the ground, getting dirt in his face.

"Incoming fire," someone yelled. Tom fired back a few a shots with his own plasma rifle, before getting up to join the retreating troops.

"Medic! We need a medic," someone, he couldn't tell who, shouted in the distance, the sounds of enemy fire drawing closer. Tom looked to his left and saw two bodies, possibly civilians, but with as much mud as was on them if they were wearing uniforms he couldn't tell at this distance.

He looked around, trying to find where the rest of his squad had gone, not hearing the plasma blast that caught him in the shoulders, knocking him to the ground, and setting the area of impact on fire while B'Elanna was shaking him gently, concern in her voice.

"Tom? Are you alright?" she said.

Tom sat upright, breathing heavily. His shoulder felt fine, his uniform clean and undamaged.

"Must've been one hell of a dream," B'Elanna said.

"A dream?" Tom said. _Yeah, that had to be it._ "I was in... I was in the middle of a battlefield. I was grazed right here," he said, reaching for the spot on his shoulder where had been shot, or so he'd believed. He reached out and turned off the television. "People back in the 20th used to say that television was a bad influence. Maybe they were right."

"It was just a nightmare, Tom," B'Elanna said.

 _God I hope so,_ Tom thought.

* * *

Harry Kim walked into sickbay, not liking how he felt, or what he had just seen. It had felt all too much like the flashbacks he would have to the Year of Hell while he was being treated for post-traumatic stress, except something was off. The memories he was having felt real, but he knew they weren't. Had they been, he probably wouldn't be aware enough right now to go to sickbay to ask the Doctor about it.

"Lieutenant Kim," the Doctor said. "I already cleared you earlier today. Is something the matter?"

"It might be, Doc," Harry said. He related the non-flashback flashbacks, for want of a better description, to the Doctor in detail. About the battlefield, the plasma rifles, people running away, stopping to check the pulse on two people he came across in the woods who were unconscious…

"It felt real, but also not, if that makes any sense. It was sort of like my flashbacks to our fights with the Krenim, except I didn't feel any of the fear or tension that I would feel during those. It's like, man I wish I had a better way to put this. It felt like I was having a memory of something that hadn't happened to me."

"That is certainly confusing," the Doctor said. "Do you think this is a relapse on your PTSD?"

"No," Harry said, "I don't think so. The aliens I was fighting in this memory weren't Krenim, and we were never planetside at any point during the Year of Hell."

"Well," the Doctor said, "it could be stress induced bad dreams. You were on a two-week long away mission, working 18-hour days, then as soon as you get back to _Voyager_ you take what amounts to a brief nap before immediately leaping back to duty. I'm going to recommend that you end your shift early and get some additional rest. I'll talk to the Captain and let her know. If you have any flashbacks that aren't flashbacks again, come see me."

"Shouldn't you do a scan?" Harry said.

The Doctor frowned, holding up his medical tricorder. Harry had failed to notice it.

"Oh, sorry," he said.

"Rest, Lieutenant," the Doctor said.

* * *

Neelix was sweating, uneasy, every noise his kitchen made caused him to jump when it happened. He tightened his grip on the knife he was using to slice vegetables, unsure why doing so made him feel like he wasn't entirely helpless.

"Welcome back," a voice behind him said, startling him. He turned quickly, but saw it was only Naomi Wildman.

"Oh, hi," he said.

"Did you have a good trip?" Naomi said.

"Wonderful, thank you," Neelix said, going back to his meal preparations, and hoping his curtness would make Naomi leave. He loved his goddaughter of course, but he wasn't in the mood to have anyone in his kitchen right now. He'd throw out the Captain if it came down to it.

"You look tired," Naomi said, sounding concerned.

"Oh, just a little shuttle lag. Don't you have a geology lesson you're supposed to be at?"

"Geometry," Naomi corrected. "Seven assigned me a special project. I'm supposed to build a tetragon. I have to use everyday things though, I'm not allowed to use a replicator. I think that might've been my Mom's idea."

Neelix began chopping his vegetables even finer, not responding to Naomi, wanting her to leave, but not wanting to tell her to just get out.

"I was thinking," Naomi continued, "about using some vegetables from the aeroponics bay. Like carrots and celery. Would that be okay? Neelix?"

"Carrots and celery, yeah. Good idea," Neelix said, feeling more anxious than ever, feeling like something terrible was about to happen, but he wasn't sure what.

"Will you help me?" Naomi asked.

"I… Uh… I don't think I'll have time today," Neelix said, his sweating getting worse.

"Neelix, are you sure you're okay?" Naomi said, having gone back to sounding concerned again.

"Just... busy, you know? Lot of work to do today."

"Well," Naomi said, "let me help you." She walked over to one of the cookers and went to take the lid off one of the pots. "What's cooking to- ouch!" she said, looking at her hand. Neelix dropped his knife in terror, and turned to see if Naomi was okay.

"Let me see your hand," he said, his panic growing.

"I'm okay," Naomi said, looking at her fingers.

"Your hand!" Neelix said, moving over and grabbing it to see how badly it had burned. "We've got to get you to sickbay."

"I'm fine," Naomi protested, sounding more embarrassed than hurt.

"Sickbay!" Neelix said forcefully. Suddenly the sound of the mess hall door opening grabbed his attention, and enemy forces began bombarding the encampment, civilians running away in a blind panic into the darkness.

* * *

Chakotay awoke, sweating, the nightmare he was having still vivid in his mind; the fire fight in the woods, trying to find Saavdra, failing to convince the man that they needed to stop firing because civilians were getting caught in the crossfire with the Nakan.

Chakotay shook his head, trying to push that all aside to focus on Tuvok's voice, the security officer's hail the thing that had woken him in the first place.

"Commander, please respond."

"Go ahead," Chakotay said, sitting up.

"We have a security breach in the mess hall," Tuvok said.

"I'm on my way," Chakotay said, getting up as quick as he could, thankful the distance to the mess hall from his quarters wasn't too far. When he got there, he saw Lydia Anderson guarding the door, and a very scared looking Samantha Wildman being held onto by Seven of Nine, who was whispering something to Samantha. The sound of a phaser going off inside the mess hall caused both Sam and Seven to jump in place. Both of them tried to to get past Lydia, but she managed to hold them back, just barely, as Chakotay entered the mess hall, staying low. He saw Tuvok, Ayala, and another security officer behind upturned tables. He heard Neelix yelling.

"Tell them to call off the attack! I won't let you hurt her!"

Chakotay made his way over to Tuvok.

"Neelix appears to be hallucinating," Tuvok said. "He has Naomi Wildman with him. He seems convinced that we intend to harm her."

"Neelix!" Chakotay shouted, "It's Commander Chakotay. Let Naomi go. No one's going to hurt her." It was likely that Tuvok had already tried to reason with Neelix, but he saw no reason not to try himself. "That's an order."

"No!" Neelix shouted. "Not until Saavdra's called off his attack!"

Chakotay had to check to make sure his legs still worked after hearing that name, the one from his dream, being mentioned. Something was going on, and it was bigger than just the ship's morale officer having a mental breakdown.

"There's a back entrance to the galley," Tuvok said. "If you can distract him perhaps-"

"I want to try something first," Chakotay said. He stayed low and moved closer to the partition between the dining and kitchen areas. "Neelix, listen to me. It's okay. Saavdra ordered a cease-fire. The colony is secure. The battle's over."

There was a pause that lasted only a few seconds, but they felt much longer to Chakotay. _If Naomi gets hurt…_

"Why do I still hear weapons fire?" Neelix asked.

"It's just a few soldiers," Chakotay said. "They're firing into the air, celebrating."

Another excruciating seconds long pause.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Neelix asked.

"Because I'm on your side," Chakotay said. "I want this conflict to end as much as you do. Let her go. It's safe now. The killing's over."

The pause that followed that was the longest yet, even though it was still only seconds. Chakotay feared that this was going to end badly; for Neelix, Naomi, or both. He breathed a sigh of relief when Naomi walked into the dining area, unharmed but visibly shaken. She ran to Tuvok while Chakotay moved over and took Neelix's phaser away from him, Neelix looking scared, ashamed, and exhausted. Chakotay knew exactly how he felt, but that was part of the problem. Saving Naomi from this hostage situation was just the start.

Chakotay held out his hand, and helped Neelix up. Neelix didn't, or couldn't, say anything, he just held on to Chakotay tightly. Chakotay walked with him, towards the opposite mess hall door, to take him to sickbay.

* * *

Captain Janeway looked down at Neelix. He looked so peaceful compared to how Chakotay and Tuvok had described him. Whatever sedative the Doctor had given him was clearly working exceptionally.

"Do we have any idea what caused the delusions?" she said.

"His norepinephrine levels are three times what they should be," the Doctor said, moving out of the way of a pacing Chakotay as he spoke. "Neurochemically speaking he's suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress syndrome."

"I dreamed that I was fighting in an alien war," Chakotay said. "The same war that Neelix seemed to be reliving."

Janeway knew that could not be a coincidence.

"Harry Kim was in earlier," the Doctor said, grabbing his medical tricorder and starting to scan Chakotay. "He mentioned having flashbacks to a war he had no memory of taking part in. I thought maybe it had to do with his preexisting PTSD from the Year of Hell, but now I'm not so sure. I haven't spoken to Ensign Paris since he returned from the away mission but I would wager if you asked him..."

"The away team," Janeway said. "Did you run into any trouble while you were gone?"

"None," Chakotay said. "The mission was by the book."

"Your engramatic activities contradict that, Commander," the Doctor said. "These are real memories, not mere dreams or hallucinations."

"Maybe you were abducted," Janeway said, "Forced into fighting. Our memories have been tampered with before." She moved around the bio-bed to stand in front of her First Officer. "We're going to retrace your mission. Start reviewing the _Delta Flyer_ sensor logs. See if you can come up with anything unusual."

Chakotay nodded, and turned to face the Doctor. "How long until Neelix is back on his feet?"

"I can wake him now if you'd like," the Doctor said.

"Do it," Janeway said. "Each member of the away team seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. Let's see if we can start putting them together. I want all four of you in the briefing room as soon as possible.

"Yes, Captain," Chakotay said.

""Doctor, run a full scan of everyone who was on the _Delta Flyer_ ," Janeway said. She was determined to find just what could've caused Neelix to endanger anyone, let alone a child he had helped care for during the time when Samantha was raising her alone.

* * *

"I don't remember much, just bits and pieces," Tom said.

Harry nodded. His memories were exactly the same, though unlike the others he seemed to be handling it better. Tom was pacing, Neelix and Chakotay both looked tired. Harry wondered if maybe his past experiences had protected him somehow from the worst of these memories, but he had trouble understanding how that could possibly be the case, or why the others still seemed to believe the battle their memories were telling them they'd taken part was real. He was certain it wasn't, though he wasn't going to say so out loud, not yet anyway. He could still hardly believe what he had heard about the incident in the mess hall.

"I dreamt I was on a planet, in the middle of a battle," Tom continued speaking, Captain Janeway and the Doctor listening quietly. "I have no idea how I got there, I can't remember."

"I was in the Jeffries tube," Harry said. "I heard weapons fire, people screaming, and I got scared, but something in the back of my mind kept pulling me back to reality. I went to the Doctor as soon as possible. He thought it might just have been stress."

"I can confirm it's not," the Doctor said. "I scanned you as you came in. You seem to have the same condition as the others, though far less severe for reasons I can't understand yet."

"I remember getting shot," Tom said, pointing at his shoulder.

"There's no evidence of a wound," the Doctor said. For Harry, this was more proof that whatever the away team thought had happened to them wasn't real. What he wanted to know was who would do something like this to them; giving them false memories of being in the middle of a war zone.

"If our memories were wiped," Chakotay said, "our physical injuries could've been masked as well."

"Do any of you recall who you were fighting?" Janeway said.

"It was dark," Neelix said, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. "I couldn't see them very well."

"They were firing at us," Tom said, his tone growing agitated.

"The Naka...the Nakana," Neelix said, seeming to ignore Tom altogether and focusing on his own memories.

"The Nakan," Harry said, suddenly remembering. "They were called the Nakan."

"That's right," Chakotay said. "I remember that now."

"They lived in a remote colony," Tom said, "and we were trying to evacuate them."

"But they were fighting us," Neelix said.

"Why couldn't they just do what they were told?" Tom said, shocking Harry.

"We had no right to be there!" Neelix shouted at Tom.

"It was for their own good," Tom said defensively.

"Gentlemen," Janeway said, standing up and gesturing at everyone to remain calm, "stay focused. You said you were trying to evacuate their colony. Why?"

"Those were our orders," Tom said.

"Who gave them?" the Doctor said.

"Saavdra," Harry said, not realizing he'd said it until Chakotay picked up that thread.

"Yes, Commander Saavdra," he said.

"He was in charge of our unit," Tom said. "We were part of an attack force."

"You were coerced," Janeway said with a degree of certainty that Harry wish he'd felt in that moment. More memories were coming back to him, and it was getting slightly harder to deny that they had happened, no matter how much his rational mind told him they couldn't have.

"No, I volunteered,' Tom said. "We all did."

"I find that difficult to believe," the Doctor said. "You were obviously manipulated somehow."

 _Maybe that's it_ , Harry thought. _The battle was real, but we were brainwashed into taking part in it. That could explain why we show the physical symptoms of PTSD_.

"No!" Neelix said, "No, no, no, I remember now. We held a briefing to plan the evacuation. You were there Commander. You too Mister Paris."

"It was a command post," Tom said. "It was night, 0200 hours."

"We'd been awake for days," Chakotay said. "We were exhausted. Spotters reported that the Nakan were unarmed and wouldn't put up a fight."

"The plan was to deploy units five and six once their shield generators were down," Tom said. "Saavdra warned us that unarmed or no, they wouldn't be happy to see us and that we shouldn't provoke them."

"He wanted us to come out of it with no casualties on either side," Neelix said. "We figured out their perimeter was weakest in sector, sector, um…"

"Fourteen?" Harry said.

"Right," Neelix said, now pacing himself on the opposite side of the table where Chakotay was doing the same.

"The terrain there was flat, ideal for transports," Chakotay said. "Once we secured the village we were to take the colonists there and get them aboard the transports."

"He wanted us to do our best to reassure them this was a temporary relocation," Tom said. "And that they were going to be back in a few weeks."

Janeway shook her head. "I'm having a hard time accepting that you'd just go along with something like this without asking at least a few questions."

"I can hardly believe it myself," Harry said, "and I was there. Or, I believe I was there. I don't know."

"I objected," Chakotay said, "but only on the grounds the unit needed more sleep. Saavdra said he'd promised command that they'd have the colony secured by the end of the day. The mission proceeded as planned, and we disabled their shield generators."

"We entered the colony and began rounding up the Nakan," Tom said. "To be honest, I expected them to give us a little more trouble."

"But then we came to the last enclosure," Neelix said. "It was empty. We had no idea where they were. Twenty-four colonists, all unaccounted for."

"We thought the spotters, had made a mistake," Tom said, sitting still, except for his wringing hands. "We should've known something was wrong. We should've gotten out then."

"What happened next?"Janeway said.

"We were moving the colonists along in an orderly fashion," Tom said, "a woman asked me to help her find her husband. I was about to, but that was when the shooting started."

"The missing Nakan were firing at us from the trees," Chakotay said. "The soldiers started firing back indiscriminately, hitting everyone. The civilians ran away, but many of them got shot in the back."

"I tried to help some of the children," Neelix said, tears starting to form in his eyes, "tried to hide them, but they were scared and ran away, right into the crossfire."

"They fired at us first, it wasn't our fault," Tom said.

"You can't be sure of that," Chakotay said. "It could've been one of our own people."

"'Our own people?'" the Doctor said. "Are you even hearing yourselves?"

Harry heard what the Doctor said, but Neelix, Tom, and Chakotay seemed not to as they kept speaking.

"Either way," Neelix said, "it doesn't justify what we did."

"What did you do?" Janeway said, putting a hand on Neelix's shoulder.

"We kept firing back," Tom said. "We yelled at the civilians who were with us to get down, but they kept running, and we… we shot them. They could've been going to aid the others, we didn't have a choice."

"Like hell we didn't," Chakotay said.

"They were wiping us out," Tom said, on the verge of crying himself now. Harry was remembering it all, the same way they were, but he couldn't figure out why he wasn't affected in the same way. It still felt fake to him, but what if that was all just wishful thinking on his part?

"That didn't give us the right to murder civilians," Chakotay said.

"I remember running away," Harry said. "hiding in a cave. There was a Nakan couple there. I- No, this can't be real, someone must've planted these memories in our heads because there is no way I would've done what my mind is telling me I did."

"What did… what do you think you did, Harry?" Janeway asked.

"I think they'd been living there for awhile. There was a portable stove, some trash collected in a bin. I told them if they told me away out of the tunnels I'd leave them alone, but the man, he made a sudden move and I… I fired. I killed both of them."

"We killed eighty-two civilians that night," Chakotay said. Harry looked at the Captain, at the look of sadness on her face. He wanted to tell her it wasn't real, but now even he was starting to doubt it. He wasn't shaking like Tom, crying like Neelix, or angry like Chakotay, but the guilt over having shot the couple was beginning to feel real, even if the incident wasn't.

* * *

With both Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay off to her left, Seven of Nine began putting the sensor data from the Delta Flyer up on the screen in astrometrics. Seven had hoped she would have a chance to properly thank Chakotay for what he did to help Naomi, but after Captain Janeway had explained the situation regarding the Nakan massacre to her, she decided to hold back.

"This was your first stop on the away mission," she said as an image of a planet was enlarged on the screen. "A class-M planet, with one natural satellite."

"Did you send anyone to the surface?" Janeway said.

"No," Chakotay said. "We only scanned for ore deposits from orbit. We were there less than an hour. Next."

Seven did so, putting the next set of information from the _Flyer_ 's logs on the screen. This time it was an alien ship. "You came into contact with this vessel en route to your second destination," she said.

"Captain Bathar," Chakotay said, chuckling. "A merchant. Bit of a charmer, but the stuff he was selling was bogus. A snake oil salesman, nothing more. Totally different species from who we fought with."

"Moving on then?" Janeway said.

"Your second stop," Seven said, a much more green planet than the first appearing on screen. Suddenly, Janeway gasped.

"Captain?" Chakotay said.

"Tarakis," she said. "I've been here."

Seven was about to ask how that was possible, but Chakotay motioned for her to stay quiet.

"How could you know that?" he said.

"I remember walking among the dead, and one of the other soldiers started vaporizing the bodies. I tried to stop him," Janeway said, her voice cracking.

"I think this proves that the memories of taking part in a massacre are false," Seven said.

Captain Janeway continued talking, shouting angrily at someone who wasn't there, trying to convince them that they 'didn't have to do this', the 'this' in question, Seven assumed, was the destruction of the Nakan bodies. Chakotay tried to calm her down, but the Captain didn't even seem to realize she was on _Voyager_.

Seven tapped her com badge.

"Seven of Nine to the Doctor," she said. "Please report to astrometrics. Medical emergency."

* * *

Captain Janeway awoke with a start to find herself lying on a cot in the mess hall. Other cots were around here, in places where tables and chairs normally were. The kind of thing that only happened when there were too many injured, or worse, for sickbay to handle. The Doctor and Tuvok were both by her side.

"How long was I out?" she said.

"Three hours," the Doctor said. "You began hallucinating in astrometrics. I'm afraid I had to sedate you. You were just the first however. Symptoms began showing up in multiple crewmembers not too long after we entered this star system."

"I saw myself on the colony that Chakotay, Tom, and the others talked about. With Saavdra." Janeway shook her head and tried to focus on the here and now. "How many crew members are affected?"

"So far?" the Doctor said. "Not including the four members of the _Delta Flyer_ mission, thirty-nine crew. Plus…" he looked down, clearly not wanting to say who else was affected, but as the number of non-crew members was limited to the _Equinox_ survivors, all still stripped of rank, and Naomi Wildman…

"Oh, no," Janeway said.

"I'm afraid so," the Doctor said. "It's bad enough in the adults. I can't even begin to imagine what this must be doing to her. I gave Ensign Wildman and Seven leave to stay with her."

"Doubtless the entire crew has been exposed," Tuvok said. "So far there is no discernable pattern to who has begun having the memories so far and who hasn't, nor is there one for who is able to function despite them."

Janeway wanted to give an order, but what to say seemed to escape her. Leaving the system seemed the obvious choice, but then again the away team members had managed to suffer the effects of the planted memories light years away. Leaving now would only be a temporary solution. They needed to find the source of this. That was their only real shot at fixing this, if it even was fixable. She looked around at the cots. Some of their occupants were sleeping, some were quietly rocking back and forth in the arms of friends or lovers, while some just sat alone, crying. With difficulty, more emotional than physical, she stood up.

"Details, Doctor," she said.

"The symptoms are all identical," he said. "Increased engramatic activity, nightmares… The thing is, sentient beings don't always respond to post-traumatic stress in the same way. Some species aren't affected by it at all. Yet here, everyone is responding in one of the same three ways. Guilt, anger, or depression. Even Ensign Vorik has been affected, and standard Vulcan meditation techniques aren't working."

"Harry was right all along," Janeway said. "He said in the briefing room that this had to be fake. I only hoped he was right though. The looks on the rest of the away team's face, they all believed so deeply that they had gotten involved with something that got out of hand."

"Real or not," the Doctor said, "these memories are having a deleterious effect on the crew. I suggest we reverse course before it becomes worse."

"I'd considered that," Janeway said, "but Chakotay and the others were being affected from well outside this system. We should at least try to reach Tarakis. If we can't find what we need to set this right there, we'll get the hell out of here at Warp 9 and just hope that we can treat the aftermath. Tuvok, set a course, and go to red alert."

"Aye, Captain," Tuvok said. Janeway took a small amount of comfort from the fact that, so far at least, her oldest friend had not yet succumbed to whatever was causing this.

The Doctor took out a hypospray and held it up to her neck. "A neurosuppressant," he said. "It will prevent more hallucinations, but I'm sorry to say there's nothing I can do about any of the bad feelings that came with them. If you start to feel guilt, or anger, or any other strong emotion overwhelm you, I recommend you activate my emergency command protocols."

"Thank you, Doctor," Janeway said.

* * *

Seven of Nine had not had any flashbacks as yet, but the Doctor could not confidently tell her that her Borg implants would protect her indefinitely. She hoped they would though, because the stress she was feeling now would only be compounded by false memories of being a war criminal, even if those crimes admittedly paled in comparison to the number of sentient beings she had personally taken part in assimilating.

Naomi had barely gotten over her terror at the incident in the mess hall when the memories had hit her. No matter how hard Seven and Sam had tried to console her, Naomi kept insisting that she was a bad person, a murderer, a monster. The child had been crying for hours, and it wasn't long before Samantha had joined her, though the latter cried more out of frustration for being unable to do anything to help her daughter. That was at least until that morning when Samantha herself had begun to have the flashbacks as well.

"Sam, honey, please let me in," Seven said through the door to the bathroom of their quarters, which Samantha had sealed. "You've been in there for over an hour. Naomi finally fell asleep."

The only sound Seven heard was the sound of the sonic shower running. Still running, as it had been for the past hour. She thought she could also hear Samantha sobbing quietly, but Seven resisted the urge to use her Borg enhanced hearing to be sure, both Sam and the Doctor's voices telling her it's 'not polite to eavesdrop' running through her mind.

"No! We can't do this!" Naomi cried out.

"Dammit," Seven said under her breath, calculating just how long she hold out before she would be reduced to tears herself. Her wife and her step-daughter were suffering, and there wasn't anything she could do to fix it. If the false memories started to affect her too…

She moved away from the door and ran to Naomi's room. The child was curled up in the fetal position, crying into the Flotter doll that Neelix had made for her last year.

"Naomi, hey, it's me," Seven said in as soothing a tone of voice as she could manage. "You're having a nightmare."

"I told him," Naomi said, each word punctuated with a sniff. "They were already dead, we were making it worse."

Seven stroked Naomi's hair.

"That wasn't you," Seven said. "You didn't kill anyone. I do not believe you ever could."

The last time Seven had tried this, Naomi had responded by screaming that she had been there, that she had shot people in the back, including children. Now she simply pressed her face deeper into the stuffed Flotter replica. Seven supposed that under the circumstances that passed for progress. She heard another sniff, but from behind her. She turned and saw Samantha standing in the doorway, her uniform a mess. Seven supposed she had worn it into the sonic shower, which couldn't have been good for the material.

"Annie," Samantha said shakily, "I know you're overdue for a regeneration, but can you stay here tonight? I really just need you here right now."

Seven sighed. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be called upon to help the Captain once they got to Tarakis. Until that time however, if Janeway needed her, she'd have to make it an order. She held out her hand, prompting Sam to step forward to take it.

"I'm here," Seven said. It was all she could think to say.

* * *

The bridge operated so normally that Janeway forgot for a brief but pleasant moment that anything had actually been wrong. The crew on the bridge were by no means cured, but for now at least they were functioning and under orders to call in a replacement at the first sign of a flashback.

"Tarakis, dead ahead," Tom said.

"Shields," Janeway said. "Stand by weapons. Scan for vessels."

"There are none," Tuvok said after a few moments.

"Take us into orbit."

"Ma'am?" Tom said.

"Do it, Ensign," she said.

"Life signs?" Chakotay said.

"The planet appears to be uninhabited," Tuvok said.

"Looks the same as it did when we were here scanning for dilithium deposits," Harry said. "No signs of weapons fire either."

"Run a full spectral scan," Janeway said, needing this trip deeper into the system that was harming her crew to have been worth it. "Look for anything unusual."

"I'm picking up a power signature," Harry said.

"Source?" Chakotay said.

"I can't tell. The signal's erratic but it's coming from the northern most continent, coordinate 172 Mark 5."

"Commander," Janeway said. "If this is the place where the Nakan massacre happened, you would know better than anyone. I want you to lead an away team to the site. Take people who haven't been affected by the memories yet. Use _Equinox_ people if you have to, I'll temporarily lift the away mission ban."

"Understood," Chakotay said.

"One more thing," Janeway said. "No phasers."

"Captain that would be inadvisable," Tuvok said.

"What's inadvisable is giving people with shell shock phaser rifles," Janeway said. "Keep a transport lock on them and an open channel. Bring them back at the first sign of trouble."

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok said.

* * *

Chakotay stepped onto the transporter platform, Tuvok on one side of him, Seven of Nine the other, and behind him were Lieutenant Ayala, and Marla Gilmore. Gilmore would not have been his first choice, but literally no one else on the engineering staff had been unaffected by the Nakan massacre memories. Much like Harry Kim, Marla's previous PTSD seemed to protect her from the worst of the side-effects.

"Energize," he said. Within seconds, they were on the planet surface. Chakotay glanced to his left, and recognized the mountain range in the distance.

"This certainly doesn't look like a war zone," Gilmore said, her tricorder already out.

"This is the right place though," Chakotay said. "I recognize the mountains over there. A lot of these trees weren't here before though. Search the area."

"Yes, sir," Ayala said, he and Gilmore going in one direction, while Tuvok, Chakotay and Seven went in another. A bird of some kind squawked in the distance, and Chakotay jumped.

"It would appear that insisting we remain unarmed was the correct call," Tuvok said.

"Yeah," Chakotay said, feeling that had he been carrying a phaser or phaser rifle and accidentally shot someone or something that would've been rather ironic.

"I am detecting a faint energy signature in this direction," Seven said, walking rapidly towards whatever she had found. Chakotay had rarely seen Seven in such a hurry before, but he understood why. It couldn't have been easy for her to leave Sam and Naomi behind, but both of them had seemed to hit a calm point. How long that would last was anyone's guess though, hence Seven's efforts to end this mission as quickly as possible.

"Gilmore to Chakotay."

Chakotay tapped his com badge. "Report."

"I think we found that cave that Lieutenant Kim was talking about, right down to the cooking gear. We found the remains of two humanoids as well, but there's no way Harry killed them."

"How do you figure?" Chakotay said.

"The remains are in the right place, but the bones are over three hundred years old," Gilmore said.

"Commander!" Seven shouted from the top of a hill several feet ahead of him and Tuvok.

"What is it?" Chakotay said.

"I have found the source of the signal," Seven said. As soon as he reached her side, he saw it too; a towering monument.

"It's a war memorial," Chakotay said. He moved towards it, Tuvok and Seven following closely behind him. "Chakotay to Gilmore, I want you and Ayala to report to my location immediately. We found the source of the memories."

As they approached, the yellow globe that Chakotay has seen at the top of the monument came clearer into view, and it was increasingly obvious that the globe was pulsing, but the pulses were weak. Soon, he was close enough to say alien writing on one side of the base of the monument.

"Seven," Chakotay said, "collect all the data you can on this thing, then report back to the ship. I'll join you shortly."

* * *

Seven of Nine had not realized until she'd returned from the planet just how disheveled she looked. She needed rest, but she wasn't going to get it. She needed to get to astrometrics, but before she did that she disobeyed a direct order. She had been told to go straight to astrometrics from the transporter room. Instead, she stopped by to check in on Sam and Naomi. The latter was sleeping, again, but had woken up once while Seven was on Tarakis. Sam was doing better, but the strain of it all was showing on her face. Seeing what all of this had done to her spouse made Seven angry. She wanted to go down to that planet and tear apart the monument with her bare hands.

That would have to wait however. She left Sam and Naomi again, this time less painful than the last as she would only be a few decks away, but on the way to astrometrics she experienced her first flashback. The memory she experienced was the same as Neelix's; trying to protect some of the Nakan children, but them being too afraid and running away only to get caught in the crossfire. She tried to hold on to that fact, but the guilt overwhelmed her, forcing her to stop and lean against the bulkhead, taking slow deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

After a few moments, the memories subsided. Her hands still shook, slightly, but otherwise she felt able to perform her duties. She headed to astrometrics, ready to apologize for being late, but neither the Captain nor Commander Chakotay, who had returned to the ship during the time Seven was checking in on her family, bothered to mention it.

"The structure of the monument contains a synaptic transmitter," she said as information about the device filled the astrometrics screen. "I believe it was designed to send neurogenic pulses throughout this system."

"So that anyone passing would experience the Nakan massacre like we did," Janeway said.

"Try running those symbols we found on the base through the translation matrix," Chakotay said. Seven did so. The language proved remarkably simple to translate, and within seconds she was reading what it said off the viewscreen aloud.

"Words alone cannot convey the suffering. Words alone cannot prevent what happened here from happening again. Beyond words lies experience; beyond experience lies truth. Make this truth your own."

"It's a memorial," Janeway said. "We weren't victims of a conspiracy, we were witnesses to a massacre."

"More than witnesses," Chakotay said. "By being forced to relive those events half the crew's been traumatized, and the other half could join them if we don't get out of here."

"I'm not sure that was the point," Janeway said. "Didn't you say something in your report about the monument being in a state of disrepair?"

"There were cracks in the stone settings," Chakotay said. "And the sphere at the top looked like it might have been meant to be brighter than it was, but that's just supposition on my part."

"If B'Elanna is in any shape to do so," Janeway said, "have her work with Marla and anyone else we can get to look into it. If the device is doing this to us as the result of a malfunction, maybe we can fix it."

Seven could see the look on Chakotay's face in her peripheral vision. She was certain he had doubts, but instead of vocalizing them, he asked her something instead.

"Anything in that database that might tell us who built this thing?" Chakotay said.

"No," Seven said. "In fact, we do not need either Lieutenant Torres or Miss Gilmore, I can already confirm from my scans that the device has been neglected for nearly two centuries. Its power cells are deteriorating."

"Not fast enough in my opinion," Chakotay said. "Let's shut this thing down so no one else has to go through this."

Seven nodded agreement, but the Captain stared at the graphic representation of the memorial on the screen. Seven briefly thought that the Captain might be having another flashback, but when Chakotay said her name, Janeway looked at them finally.

"I'm not so sure," Janeway said. "Send the engineering team down anyway. If we can find out how this thing was intended to work, maybe we can fix it."

Chakotay did not look, or sound, too happy with that, but Janeway spoke up before he could object.

"Call a meeting of the senior staff," she said. "Seven, I want you there too, Neelix as well, since he was one of the first to experience this. We may want his input."

"Except for B'Elanna, right?" Chakotay said. "You still want her heading the engineering team on Tarakis?"

"Right," Janeway said. "Thank you."

Chakotay headed out, and Seven turned to follow, but Janeway gently put a hand on Seven's elbow to get her attention.

"Hey, you alright?" Janeway said.

"Captain?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you look even more tired than I do. Your hair's a mess, and I see stains on your uniform in about the place where someone would put their head if they were crying on your shoulder."

"It has been...a stressful time. However, once I have the opportunity to return to my alcove, and once I am certain that my family won't be further harmed by that memorial down there, I will be fine. Though I feel I should mention that I had my first memory several minutes ago. My Borg implants were not able to prevent me from being affected by the device."

Janeway sighed. "I'm so sorry, Seven. The most I can offer you right now is the knowledge that one way or another, this will be over very soon."

* * *

Janeway was tired, but it was almost over, she could feel it. There were several ways it could end, but it was going to end, and that was the important part. After filling everyone in the briefing room in on what the situation was, the Doctor spoke up first.

"I'm afraid," he said, "that regardless of if we fix it or shut it off, your memories of the massacre will be permanent."

"At least we'll prevent what happened to us from happening to other ships," Harry said.

"What if we can't fix it though?" Neelix said. "Then all record of what happened here would be lost. Someone put a lot of time and care into building that transmitter," Neelix said.

"Yeah, and then they abandoned it," Harry said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He very early on in the meeting had planted himself firmly on the side of shutting the device down.

"Neelix," Tom said, "you haven't seen all the ways this thing has screwed with my head, what it's done to my sleep, to my relationship… Hell, if I thought the captain would go along with it I'd go the extra mile and just drop a torpedo on it."

"Okay, that's a bit much," Harry said. "Turning it off will suffice."

"Fine, so the monument will still be there," Neelix said, "but that won't tell the whole story."

"Unbelievable," Seven said through clenched teeth.

"Excuse me?" Neelix said.

"You want us to leave that thing running? With all that's it done to us, is still doing to us?"

"Look," Captain Janeway said, "if we could just calm down and-"

"That memorial is there for a reason," Neelix said, his voice raising, "we have no right to just shut it off."

"And whoever built it had no right to force traumatic memories on us!" Seven's hand clenched the chair she stood behind so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "On all of us, Neelix. Including your goddaughter, my step-daughter. Did you, for one goddamn second think about what those false flashbacks were doing to her? Have you ever had to hold a four year old child in your arms who can't stop crying because she feels like a murderer?"

"You've made your point, that's enough Seven," Janeway said, calmly but firmly.

"You think I don't care about Naomi?" Neelix said. "How dare you!"

"That's enough," Janeway said, louder this time, the rest of the senior staff, even Tuvok, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

"How dare you, with your trite, lame-ass platitudes!" Seven fired back, any trace of her usual Borg calm gone, her face red, her tone holding more anger than Janeway had ever heard from her before. Neelix stepped forward, putting himself mere inches from Seven of Nine, and pointed an accusatory finger at her. Janeway feared that Seven would try to break that finger off before Neelix could say anything. Tuvok immediately stood up, looking ready to intervene. Harry and Tom were reaching for Neelix's arms while Chakotay positioned himself to grab Seven if need be. Janeway felt her hands shaking, and her own face going warm with rage at the sight of her crew bickering like wolverines fighting over a bear carcass.

"You think that just because you're sleeping with her mother that you get to lecture-"

"I said that's enough!" Janeway shouted, her fist slamming into the screen on the wall so hard that it cracked, pain shooting up from her hand into her arm. Everyone in the briefing immediately stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at her, all of them looking shocked. "Whatever the intentions of this memorial's builders, planting false memories and giving innocent people PTSD just because they happened to pass through this star system is unforgivable. Forget fixing the device, we're shutting the damn thing off. If the race that built it is still around, they can make a new one. Maybe one that won't cause people like us to be ready to kill each other. That's assuming they still exist. Or still care, seeing as it was left unattended long enough to malfunction in the first place, as more than one person has pointed out to me today."

"But what about-" Neelix started to say, sounding much calmer and having stepped away from Seven.

"No," Janeway said. "My decision is final. This ends _today_."

Janeway went to tap her combadge, to let the engineering team on the planet know she was scrapping the repair mission, but it was then she realized that it was the hand she normally used to tap said badge that she had hit the wall screen with. It hurt, wouldn't unclench, and was bleeding on the side. She awkwardly used her other hand.

"Janeway to away team," she said.

The reply took a few seconds longer than it should, and when B'Elanna responded her voice was shaky. _Probably another false flashback_ , Janeway thought.

"B'Elanna," Janeway said. "have you found a way to repair the memorial?"

"Negative Captain," B'Elanna said. "But given some more time-"

"Don't bother," Janeway said. "Just shut it down. Blow it up if you have to. I'm not going to let that thing harm this crew anymore. We're done."

"Yes ma'am," B'Elanna said, not even trying to hide the tone of relief in her voice. Janeway looked at Neelix, who had mercifully gone silent, and was now looking intently at the floor.

"Dismissed," Janeway said. "As soon as we've left orbit I'm ordering bed rest for all of you. If you need me, I'll be in sickbay."

* * *

Seven felt like she might fall over, but there was one last thing she needed to do, as much for herself as for her loved ones, before going to spend the next twelve hours in her alcove. _Voyager_ had broken orbit and was on its way out of the system, and the Doctor was hard at work implementing a treatment regimen for the crew's PTSD. She walked into the room, and saw Samantha, dressed in casual clothes, leaning against the doorway into Naomi's room. Sam looked over at Seven, presumably having heard her come in, and raised a finger to her lips. Seven moved quietly to Sam, putting her arms around her waist.

"This is the longest she's slept since this whole thing started," Sam whispered, looking at a sleeping Naomi. "I'd go to bed myself, but I keep expecting another nightmare."

"She'll probably be having those for a while, sad to say," Seven said, referring to what the Doctor had said in the briefing room earlier that day. "However she is young, and remarkably resilient. I think she'll get past well before either of us do."

"I hope so," Sam said. "I hate that you just can't stay here tonight."

"I know,' Seven said. "Unfortunately I require my regeneration cycle to, you know, live."

Sam barely suppressed a laugh. Seven was glad to hear a positive emotional response from her again. It had only been a few days, but that was more than long enough.

"I love you," Sam said.

"I love you too," Seven said, kissing Sam on the back of the neck before heading towards the door.

* * *

Neelix stared out the viewport in the mess hall, watching the streaking lights as _Voyager_ went into warp.

"How are you holding up?" He heard Captain Janeway say from behind him.

"Not well, Captain," he admitted. "I'd kind of hoped things would get back to normal quickly, but no one's come by to eat anything here since, well, since I took Naomi hostage."

"You thought you were protecting her," Janeway said.

"I scared her," Neelix said. "I wouldn't blame her if she hated me for that."

"You know, you're not going to be able to beat yourself up over that forever, right?"

"I can try," Neelix said. He lowered his head. "Captain, I need to apologize for what I said in the briefing room, about the memorial. Everyone was right, and I was just… I couldn't… I was being a complete and total shithead. I'd had a whole speech planned to argue for repairing the monument. I was going to invoke other memorials, ones from the Alpha Quadrant that I'd looked up. The obelisk at Khitomer, the fields of Gettysburg… But they don't force the tourists at Gettysburg to think they're murdering people, do they?"

"Not so much, no."

"If Seven of Nine had broken my nose when I got in her face, I would've had it coming," Neelix said.

"Well," Janeway said, "considering the crack you made about her wife, I wouldn't have blamed her. I'd still need to throw her in the brig for a while but…"

"Right, that. I don't even know where that came from, I think Seven and Sam are an adorable couple, I've never had an unkind thing to say about them, ever."

"I know where it came from. It's called post-traumatic stress disorder. You may have heard the term bandied about quite a bit this week."

"Humor as a defense mechanism? Isn't that usually Tom's thing?"

Janeway shrugged. "He does it more than most, but it's hardly unique to him. Get some sleep, Neelix. I'm sure you'll be busy in that kitchen again soon enough."

 **Chapter Seven**

Samantha Wildman was tired, but smiling. For the third night in a row, Naomi had slept through the night without waking up in terror. The worst of the flashbacks and nightmares caused by the broken memorial the crew had encountered over a week prior had past, but for days after the nightmares had kept Naomi, and consequently Samantha, awake to the point of exhaustion.

Seven of Nine had been there when she could, but she was undergoing treatment from the Doctor for PTSD as well, in addition to the time she needed to spend in her alcove. When the _Voyager_ crew had made first contact with the people of Norcadia Prime, and the locals had offered them shore leave, Captain Janeway had jumped at the chance, and even Samantha considered taking the opportunity to go, only her recent phobia about leaving the ship really stopping her.

Samantha looked at the chronometer and groaned. She knew that she shouldn't be forcing herself to stay awake like this, but the ever present fear of Naomi needing her in the middle of ship's night again kept her from being able to just lie down. She glanced out the viewport at the planet below, and hoped her crew mates were having fun at the various sporting events they were attending. She blinked slowly, and realized that she just couldn't keep going. She had a shift in a few hours, where her only companion in the lab would be _Equinox_ survivor James Morrow. Morrow had not been the one who had shot Seven, and the man did seem genuinely repentant over what he had done under Captain Ransom's orders, but that didn't make it any easier.

She crawled into bed, hoping she wouldn't oversleep, and closed her eyes.

 _It could all be worse I suppose_ , she thought.

* * *

"No thanks," Captain Janeway said, politely declining Chakotay's offer to carry her bag to the _Delta Flyer_ for her before she left. It was lightly packed, as she didn't expect too much to happen on her visit to the Pandari homeworld, a planet in the system neighboring the one her crew was enjoying their shore leave at.

"While I'm gone though," she continued, "you may want to run a diagnostic on the shield generators. It's way overdue."

"Done and done," Chakotay said.

"And don't forget to keep tabs on Neelix's little project in the mess hall."

"He's still trying to enhance the plasma burners in his stove?"

"I keep telling him that it won't make his cooking go faster, but you know how he gets when he latches onto an idea. He should run out of steam on this one eventually."

The two continued chatting idly as they walked down the corridors, until they had reached the door to the shuttle day.

"I have to admit," Janeway said, "I feel a little guilty about leaving right now. A lot of the crew is still dealing with the ramifications of that broken memorial on Tarakis."

"We're doing okay," Chakotay said. "The worst of the nightmares have passed for everyone, and those lucky enough to not have started getting the flashbacks have all stepped up their game. Even Angelo Tassoni is being, well, at the very least he's not being belligerent. I'd call that a step up."

"I have to say," Janeway said, "apart from him the rest of the _Equinox_ survivors really came through for us during the whole mess. Still-"

"Even the Captain deserves a vacation once in a while," Chakotay said, smiling, clearly seeing through Janeway's stalling. "The ship will still be here when you get back."

"It better be," Janeway said, entering the shuttle bay.

* * *

"Tell me that's not lunch," B'Elanna Torres said after entering the mess hall, and seeing a large bowl of yellow, something, on the counter.

"It's leola root oil, for my skin," Neelix said, turning around. B'Elanna winced when she saw how nearly half his face looked red.

"What happened?" B'Elanna said.

"I was so excited to visit one of those Nocardian beaches I'd heard about, I forgot to take my dermaline hypospray."

"So that red is sunburn? Yikes. It hurts just looking at it," B'Elanna said.

"I fell asleep under two suns," Neelix said.

"I told him to just see the Doctor," Brian Sofin said, B'Elanna finally noticing him standing nearby. "He insists on the homemade remedy though."

B'Elanna chuckled.

"Well," Neelix said, "how's your shore leave been?"

"We've spent the last few days at Tsunkatse matches," B'Elanna said. "You seen any of them Brian?"

"Nope," Sofin said. "Still not allowed shore leave remember?"

"Right, sorry," B'Elanna said, forgetting for a moment the status of the _Equinox_ survivors on board. So far, of the five, only Marla Gilmore had been allowed to go planet side, and that was for a mission, and only because so much of the rest of the engineering staff was barely holding it together thanks to false memories of a war crime. "It's exciting to watch. Just two athletes in peak physical condition going at it in a controlled setting, no weapons, rules to make sure no one gets killed. A great sport. You should come down to the next match this afternoon, Neelix."

"I might just do that," Neelix said. He looked past B'Elanna. "How about you Seven?"

B'Elanna turned around, and saw Seven of Nine and Tuvok sitting across from each other, going over a pair of PADDs. She remembered that the two of them were planning a scientific excursion.

"I have no desire to do so," Seven said.

"Fair enough," B'Elanna said. "So, where was it you two were going today?"

"There is a micronebula," Tuvok said, "approximately 1.6 light years from here on the verge of collapse. We intend to take a shuttle to study it."

"An away mission during shore leave?" Neelix said.

"Only partially," Seven said. "While I witnessed several such occurrences as a drone, I have never had the chance to witness such a phenomena as an individual."

"Well, whatever floats your boat," B'Elanna said. "Will Sam be going with you?"

"Regrettably, no," Seven said. "She still has… concerns about leaving the ship."

"And by concerns you mean she's become downright superstitious," B'Elanna said.

Seven sighed. "I was attempting to put it diplomatically. I tried to convince her to come along, but she still believes that something terrible will happen if she ever sets foot off _Voyager_ again."

"Has she tried talking to the Doctor about that?" Neelix asked. "That doesn't seem like a very healthy way of thinking."

"She has," Seven said, rolling her eyes. B'Elanna thought at first she was offended at what Neelix said, but what she said next clarified things. "The Doctor was not as diplomatic as I was."

"Oh dear," Sofin muttered.

"It is remarkable to me," Seven said, "just how much offense a sentient being can cause when they have no intent to do so."

B'Elanna stifled a laugh, while Neelix nodded in agreement. "Well," she said to Seven and Tuvok, "try to enjoy yourself out there, Seven."

* * *

Seven of Nine began assembling the gear that she and Tuvok had determined they would need once they reached the micronebula. As she did so, she once again felt a moment of guilt, leaving her family behind, but Samantha had insisted she not pass up the opportunity, and Naomi had not had a flashback or a nightmare in days.

She heard the door to the cargo bay open as she continued to pack, one full bag already resting near her alcove. She turned and saw Tom Paris enter.

"Here's the navigational data you asked for," he said.

"Thank you,' Seven said.

"How long are you planning on being gone?" Tom said, looking at the already full bag, as well as the one Seven was currently working on.

"Approximately 48 hours," she said. Tom chuckled.

"Just like B'Elanna," he said.

"Clarify," Seven said, wondering what he meant.

"She likes to overpack too," Tom said.

"Is this another example of details about your relationship I do not need to know?" Seven asked.

"What are you implying?" Tom said.

"I believe the word is 'oversharing.' Sam taught me about the concept. I have found that it has helped avoid many potentially embarrassing moments when engaging in dialogue with the rest of the crew."

"C'mon, I don't talk that much about my relationship with B'Elanna."

"Ensign Paris," Seven said. "you told me what your 'safeword' was last year. I looked up what that meant. I never needed to know that much about your personal life, and I wish it were possible to forget. There is a reason I drink my tea in larger mugs now."

Tom was silent, looking as if he wanted to say something, presumably to defend himself, but eventually he just sighed.

"Okay, yeah, I see your point. I'll work on that."

"Please do," Seven said. Tom left, and she continued packing, setting aside some items she realized there was a far less than 50% chance that she would actually need. Once the task was completed, she made her way to the shuttle bay, where one of _Voyager_ 's smaller shuttles would be waiting for her since the _Delta Flyer_ was already in use by the Captain.

When she arrived, she saw Samantha waiting for her, and she smiled. "Sam, are you coming with us after all?"

"No, sorry," Samantha said, "I don't think you could pay me to get in a shuttle again. No, I'm just here to see you off. Naomi would be here, but I decided to let her sleep in." Sam stepped forward, put her arms around Seven's waist, and kissed her on the lips.

"Mmm," Seven said. "I will certainly miss that while I am studying the micronebula."

"Stay safe," Sam said.

"I intend to," Seven said, moving towards the lowered ramp of the shuttle with an extra spring in her step.

* * *

As the shuttle made its way to the micronebula, Seven of Nine found her thoughts drifting back to her wife and step-daughter back on _Voyager_ , the guilt over leaving them having come back again, despite the fact that on multiple occasions both of them had made it clear they were fine with Seven going on this excursion.

Seven looked at the chronometer.

"Two hours, thirty-seven minutes, thirteen seconds," she said.

Tuvok looked at her, saying nothing.

"That is how long we have gone without verbal communication," she added.

"Why is that remarkable?" Tuvok said.

"While I have improved considerably in my time aboard _Voyager_ ," Seven said, "I still sometimes find extended periods of silence uncomfortable."

"A side-effect of your time in the collective," Tuvok said.

"Correct."

"Silence does not affect Vulcans in the same way. I apologize for not taking that into consid-"

Tuvok's apology was interrupted by the sound of the proximity alert, letting them that an unidentified ship was approaching. Seven checked her sensors and confirmed that the vessel was on an intercept course.

"Attempting to hail approaching vessel," Tuvok said. The noise of an ignored communication channel request told Seven that there was no response before Tuvok did.

"I am suddenly grateful that Sam decided not to come along," Seven said. "This would only reinforce her belief that leaving the ship is 'bad luck'."

"Tuvok to _Voyager_ ," Tuvok said, apparently as certain as Seven herself was that the approaching ship was a threat. There was no response, and a half-second after Tuvok attempted contact, the lights in the shuttle began to flicker.

"The vessel is emitting some kind of dampening field," Seven said, working her console as best she could while its display went back and forth between functioning and not. We've lost weapons, engines, shields-"

Every light on the shuttle went out all at once, the hum of the shuttle's engines falling away.

"And everything else too," she added bitterly before a sound drew her and Tuvok's attention. They looked back, and saw a device beamed into the rear area of the shuttle. It was small, round, and had blinking red lights on it. Tuvok quickly stood up and took out his tricorder and began scanning it. Seven wondered how Tuvok knew his tricorder would still work, but decided that he didn't and had simply acted on instinct. Luckily for them, it did work. That however proved to be the only good news.

"It's an explosive device of some sort," Tuvok said. "I will attempt to disarm it."

"The lights on the device are pulsating at an accelerated rate," Seven said, sliding down despite knowing that her seat would likely provide little cover. "You don't have time."

Tuvok reached out, but his hand hit a force field around the device, the lights blinked faster and-

* * *

"...Borg-enhanced physiology," Seven heard a voice say as she awoke, unsure where she was, knowing only that she was lying down on something cold and metal. "You should have superior strength, agility, stamina, visual acuity." Seven opened her eyes, and saw an alien knelt down beside her, scanning her with some sort of device. She sat up, ready to attack the man, as disturbed by his tone of voice as anything else in the situation. Memories of being on a shuttle with Tuvok flooded back to her.

"Welcome to Tsunkatse," the alien said, smiling. It was a smile that she liked to see coming from Samantha, but in those instances Seven had adjusted her appearance for the express purpose of such a reaction. From an alien who was talking about her potential fighting skills, it was disturbing.

 _Tsunkatse_ , she thought. _The matches the crew have been watching. Is this how they recruit fighters for the matches? Kidnapping? The crew won't approve of this when they find out_.

"Since the game's inception," the alien kept talking, in a tone that she believed Samantha would've referred to as 'sleazy', "our audience has never had the pleasure of seeing a drone compete." The alien stood up and walked away. It was only then that Seven realized she was sitting in a cage of some sort. The bars were very wide apart, it would've been easy to squeeze herself between them, but she imagined that her captors had already thought of that.

"You," the alien said, pointing at Seven, "are going to be a very popular attraction."

Once her head was clearer, Seven took a quick look around. She saw a number of other aliens from species she did not recognize engaged in training exercises. She also realized she recognized the alien who was talking to her. He was a Norcadian. She didn't know him personally, but she'd seen a number of his race aboard during the first contact party days before.

"Where's Commander Tuvok?" she said.

"Your comrade from the shuttle? I'm afraid he was injured in the explosion."

Seven stood up. "I wish to see him. _Now_."

If the Norcadian was intimidated by her. He made no show of it, continuing to smile. "Certainly," he said, waving his hand. Another alien nearby moved towards one of the doors to the area where Seven was being held captive. "You'll learn that nothing is more important to me than the well-being of my fighters."

"Yes," another male voice said. Seven glanced to her left and saw a Hirogen, the first she'd seen in years, and at least at first glance the oldest. "Penk's generosity is legendary." The Hirogen then laughed, as did many of the other aliens, all dressed in similar silver garb. Seven deduced that these were other fighters.

"Quiet!" Penk yelled, but his smile quickly returned. "He's envious because I've found a new favorite."

"I have no intention of participating in your game," Seven said angrily, the idea of committing an act of violence against another sentient for any reason other than self-defense repulsive to her.

"Aggressive. I like that," Penk said. The sound of an automated door opening caught Seven's attention. She saw two armed men walking in a visibly wounded Tuvok, who was breathing heavily and clearly had trouble walking under his own power, the upper part of his uniform charred.

Seven moved in to help, taking Tuvok from the armed men, and helping him to lie down on the cot in her cell.

"He requires medical attention," she said.

"That can be arranged," Penk said.

"Then arrange it," Seven said, wondering if she could take down the man and his armed guards fast enough to avoid getting shot, since she had her doubts that these weapons had stun settings.

"You haven't won a single bout," Penk said. "And already you're making demands like a champion."

"Will you treat him or not?" Seven said.

"Will you fight?" Penk said flatly. Seven understood exactly what that meant.

"Do not comply," Tuvok said, "My condition is not severe." Seven looked at him, at the burns on his forehead and cheeks, and had to refrain from calling the Vulcan out on his obvious lie in front of strangers.

"Spoken like a true competitor," Penk said. "Willing to ignore his injuries for the sake of the contest. Schedule a bout for him, a red match. Put him up against the Pensarkan."

"A red match," the Hirogen said, "doesn't end until one of the competitors is killed. Your friend would not survive."

"But you might," Penk said, still looking at Seven.

"Give her a blue match, Penk," the Hirogen said. "You wouldn't want to lose your new favorite her first time in the pit."

Penk looked contemplative. It was the first time Seven could think of where she saw a captor openly considering advice from one of their captives.

"Yes," Penk said. "We should start her off slowly."

Seven looked at Tuvok, who was now struggling to keep his eyes open. "Treat him," she said, "and I will comply."

Penk simply grinned, and for the first time, Seven understood what other humans talked about when they said someone had a face that looked 'punchable.'

* * *

B'Elanna looked at the list of Tsunkatse matches on the PADD in her hand, gathered around a table with Commander Chakotay, Tom, Harry, and Joe Carey, although the latter of the four had no particular interest in the bouts and was only there because all the other seats in the mess hall were taken.

"What about the seventh match?" she said. "I'm picking the Vensiddian."

"Same here," Chakotay said.

"He lost his last two times out," Harry said.

"But he's undefeated against left-handed fighters," Chakotay said,

"You should trust him, Harry," Tom said. "Chakotay knows a thing or two about southpaws. He's our resident expert on boxing, remember?"

"Yeah," B'Elanna said. "A passion of his we didn't know about until last year."

"In my defense," Chakotay said, "when before that, incident, did I ever have cause to bring it up?"

"You never brought it up when we were in the Maquis either," B'Elanna countered.

"Okay," Chakotay said, "you got me there. I do love boxing, I guess I just never really felt like sharing it."

"Nothing wrong with that," Joe said. "We all have little things we keep to ourselves. Did you guys know I build ships in bottles?"

"Really?" Harry said. "I tried that once in the academy. Did a pretty poor job of it."

"I can give you some pointers if you'd like," Joe said.

"Maybe," Harry said. "I'll think about it."

"Joe's right," Tom said. "Let's not give the commander a hard time for telling us about every single thing that interests him."

"What about the Pensarkin-Bendali match," B'Elanna said, chuckling, "unless you guys want to talk about tiny wooden boats some more."

"Too close to call in my opinion," Harry said.

"Agreed," B'Elanna said.

"Well, I'll let you know how it turns out when I get back," Chakotay said.

"Wait, what?" B'Elanna said.

"I rearranged the duty schedules this morning after something you said to me, about delegating," Chakotay said, the smile on his face growing as both Harry and Joe suddenly pretended to be fascinated by the ceiling. "You've got the bridge starting at 1400 hours."

"Oh, this is payback for me telling you to put off the diagnostic on the shield generators isn't it?" B'Elanna said.

"I thought you'd be pleased that I took your advice," Chakotay said.

"Unbelievable," B'Elanna groaned.

"Honey, look at it this way," Tom said, getting up from his seat to stand behind B'Elanna and rub her shoulders. "You get to sit in the big chair."

"Small comfort," B'Elanna said.

* * *

The Doctor ran his medical tricorder over Neelix, lamenting that he was here right now instead of visiting one of Norcadian museums he'd hoped to see before _Voyager_ left. He could be looking at artifacts of cultural significance, paintings, sculptures, but no, here he was about to give a lecture to a Talaxian with yellow blisters over half his face.

"You're having an allergic reaction to the ointment you made for your sunburn," he said. "I hope you've learned your lesson. Talaxian homeopathy is no substitute for medical science."

The Doctor filled up a hypospray and pressed it against Neelix's neck on the non-sunburned side. "This should help with the swelling and discoloration. But you'll have to stay out of the sun."

"But what about the rest of my shore leave?" Neelix asked.

"I suggest you limit it to indoor activities," the Doctor said, taking out a PADD that he'd been reading earlier. It contained a list of just such activities, and he was more than willing to share it with Neelix if it meant not having to deal with him as a patient for awhile.

"Hmm. Well, Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Kim invited me to one of the Tsukatse matches. I could go with them."

The Doctor sighed. "I'm disappointed in you Mister Neelix. Cheering for one individual to inflict serious injury on another hardly seems like an activity you'd enjoy."

"It's not like it's a bar brawl or anything, Doctor," Neelix said. "It's a regulated match, with rules, and all the participants are well trained. Sure it can get a little brutal, and accidents can happen, but unless you're dealing with a really corrupt organization every fighter involved knows what they're getting into. Risks included."

"If you ask me," the Doctor said, "there's not that much difference between a regulated fight and just a plain fight. Surely you can find some other way to occupy your time that doesn't involve fisticuffs."

"Well," Neelix said, "what do you suggest?"

"As a matter of fact, I was planning a visit to the Norcadian Museum of Entomology this afternoon. There's a fascinating exhibit of beetle larvae from their equatorial sub-continent. You're welcome to join me."

"I'll have to think about that one, Doctor," Neelix said.

* * *

"Tsunkat! Tsunkat!" Neelix chanted along with the rest of the crowd as two humanoid alien women battled in the Tsunkatse arena. Chakotay sat next to him, Harry Kim in Tom Paris sitting in the same row. Neelix had spotted a few other various crew members scattered throughout the seats, but he and the other three were the only _Voyager_ people in this particular section.

"You were right Commander, this is exciting," Neelix said once the match was over. "Two opponents alone in the pit with only their strength and agility to protect them."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Chakotay said.

"I don't quite understand the rules though," Neelix said.

"It's simple," Chakotay said. "A Tsunkatse fighter wears a polaron disruptor on both of their hands and feet. Each disruptor delivers a bioplasmic charge when it comes in contact with one of the opponent's target sensors."

"So there is strategy involved," Neelix said.

"A fighter has to attack their rival's sensors without exposing their own," Chakotay said.

"Are you two gonna talk or are you here to watch?" Tom said.

"At ease, Ensign," Chakotay said. "I'm just answering the man's questions."

Loud music began playing and Neelix looked around as nearly everyone stood up and began applauding, including Tom, Harry, and Chakotay, so he quickly joined in. He looked expectantly at the arena pit's entrance doors, awaiting the entrances of the next combatants. It was his second match of the night, but he still felt as excited as he had for the first. One of the doors opened, and the first of the combatants stepped out; a tall, well-built man. Looking extremely confident, he acknowledged the cheering crowd with a single, raised eyebrow. The cheering grew even louder.

 _This one must be particularly popular_ , Neelix thought.

"He looks like he could pick up a shuttlecraft," he said aloud.

"He's a Pendari," Harry said. "They're known for their superior strength."

"And their bad temper," Tom added.

"I hear they have a tendency to throw their opponents into the stands," Harry said.

"Be ready to duck," Tom said.

Neelix chuckled. The music swelled once again, and the Pendari's opponent began to step-out. Even when he could see with his own eyes who it was, he still had a hard time believing it.

"Seven?" Neelix said. He looked over at the others, who appeared as shocked as he was. Taking a closer look he realized that Seven did not look too thrilled to be there herself, and he doubted it had anything to do with the majority of the crowd jeering as soon as she came out the door.

He tried calling out to her, and he could hear Chakotay and the others doing the same, but if Seven heard them she gave no indication. She and the Pendari circled each other slowly, disdain apparent on the latter's face. Neelix could see his lips moving but couldn't make out what she was saying to Seven. Seven replied with an inaudible comment of her own, and the Pendari responded by making a mocking gesture before punching Seven, knocking her into the wall of the arena. She quickly got back up and dodged a second and third punch while making no apparent effort to punch back. She kept talking, and though Neelix couldn't make out the words, he thought for a moment that she was taunting her opponent, perhaps trying to goad him into making a mistake.

"It's no use, she can't hear us," he heard Harry say.

"Chakotay to _Voyager_ , come in," he heard Chakotay say, barely loud enough to be heard over the crowd's cheering when Seven was knocked back by a kick to the chest.

"Calling to give me a blow-by-blow description of the match, Commander?" B'Elanna's voice replied over the comm badge.

"Seven of Nine is in the pit," Chakotay said.

"What?" B'Elanna replied.

"No time to explain, just beam her out of there."

There was no reply. Neelix kept watching, and almost cheered as Seven delivered a kick that got the Pendari right in the face, but it barely phased him. He moved forward, but Seven delivered two swift kicks to his chest sensor, driving him to his knees with the pain of the shock.

"Maybe she can win this," Neelix said under his breath, but his hope was short-lived as with shocking speed the Pendari got up and knocked Seven to the floor with his arm. Seven got back up quickly and delivered a solid kick, but the Pendari man quickly shook it off and knocked her to the ground again with one punch.

"I'm locked on to the coordinates of the pit," B'Elanna's voice said. "Seven's not there."

"I'm looking right at her, B'Elanna!" Chakotay said.

"Not according to these sensors."

"Maybe their lifesigns are masked," Harry said.

"Try recalibrating the bio-scanners!" Chakotay said.

A few seconds later, Neelix watched as Seven and the Pendari began to fizzle out, as though they were holograms and not real people. It took him a second to realize that that was exactly why B'Elanna couldn't get a lock on. The crowd booed when the image of the fight faltered.

"The only readings I'm picking up are photonic," B'Elanna's voice said.

"They're transmitting the fight from another location,." Tom said, having obviously reached the same conclusion. Neelix turned towards Chakotay to ask if they could trace the source of the transmission but a loud thud drew his attention back to the arena in time to see Seven go down. That sound he'd heard had been a hit, and though he hadn't seen it, he knew it had been a brutal one as Seven was on one knee, and visibly struggling to get back up. The Pendari picked her up and threw her against the wall. She got back up, and tried to get behind the Pendari to get another kick in on one of his target sensors, but he grabbed her leg and threw her back down to the ground. The two traded punches, hit for hit, Seven managing to briefly knock her opponent back with an uppercut.

"Keep trying," he heard Chakotay say. He wondered for a moment what the Commander meant, but it occurred to him that maybe B'Elanna was trying to find the source of the transmission. He hoped it happened quick.

Seven managed to knock the Pendari to the floor again. He did not get up, noticeably dazed from her attack. She leaned over him, and against all logic Neelix yelled at her to end the fight, to knock him out. Her arm was raised, fist clenched, ready to strike, but she hesitated.

"What the hell is she-" he heard Harry say, but before he could finish the thought, the Pendari recovered and kicked her in her stomach, then got up and hit her in the face. He stood at her side, facing opposite to her, and locked his arm across her throat and other shoulder. He then landed a sharp blow to the sensor on her back, and then, in a move that caused Neelix to gasp, lifted her up with his locked arm and fell forward, bring her over and down on her back, very hard. He knelt next to her, hit the target sensor on her chest, and Seven, while still visibly breathing, and moving her head, did not get up. Didn't even try.

The crowd began to chant again. "Tsunkat! Tusnkat!" This time however, the _Voyager_ crew did not join them.

* * *

As Janeway piloted the _Delta Flyer_ , she listened to Commander Chakotay's report on what had happened. She had briefly been tempted to chew him out for allowing one of their own to get kidnapped while she was away, but she was able to maintain her cool. Partly due to the fact that her own memory reminded her of all the times a crew member was stolen from under her nose. Ripping into Chakotay over this just wouldn't be fair.

"We've scanned the Norcadian surface, Captain," Chakotay said after filling her in on the details of the fight, and how they couldn't find any sign of Tuvok or the shuttle either.

"There's no sign of them."

"Any luck tracing the transmission?" Janeway said.

"We're trying but it's not easy," Chakotay said. "There are transmissions being sent to every planet in the sector."

"I guess you aren't the only ones who enjoy this sport," Janeway said.

"It could take days before we can figure out where Seven and Tuvok are being held," B'Elanna said.

"What about diplomatic channels?" Janeway said.

"Neelix is meeting with a group of Norcadian officials," Chakotay said.

"Well, let's hope he gets their cooperation," Janeway said.

"When can we expect you back?' Chakotay asked.

"I'm at the outer rim of the Pendari system," Janeway said, looking down at her console. "At best, I'm 48 hours away."

"Sorry to cut your vacation short, Captain," Chakotay said.

"It's alright, Commander," Janeway said. "Just keep me informed. Janeway out."

 _I wonder how Samantha is taking this_ , she thought.

* * *

"That went better than I hoped," Tom said. He was seated at his station on the bridge, B'Elanna and Chakotay standing next to him. When the communication with the Captain ended, everyone returned to their stations.

"Has anyone told Sam yet?" B'Elanna asked.

"Neelix took care of that before he left," Harry said. "To say she's pissed would be an understatement, but at least she knows for sure Seven's alive right now. It's not like when the _Equinox_ crew took her and we had no idea."

"Do you think this is how the Norcadians get all their fighters?" Tom said.

"Doesn't matter," Chakotay said. "That they kidnap people and force them to fight at all is an insult to the sport."

"At least we know she can hold her own," B'Elanna said. "If she hadn't hesitated towards the end of that match she'd have won it. What do you think that was even about?"

"We can ask her when we have her back on board," Chakotay said. "I want ideas people. Even stupid ones. Whatever it takes to get our people back."

* * *

Seven awoke, once again, on the metal cot she'd been on when this whole thing started. The Hirogen was standing over her with some kind of device. She fliched and went to grab it, but the Hirogen made no effort to stop her.

"It's a dermal regenerator," he said while she looked at it closely.

"You should be using this on Tuvok," she said.

"I already did. While you were resting," the Hirogen said. "Now hold still and let me finish, the device is almost out of power."

"Why are you helping us?" Seven said.

"I recognize fellow hunters when I see them," the Hirogen said.

"I'm no hunter," Seven said.

"I saw your match today," the Hirogen said. "Your skills are impressive."

"The Pendari would disagree," Seven said as she sat up.

"You almost defeated him. But at the last moment, you hesitated. You… questioned your desire to destroy your prey."

"I have no such desire," Seven said. "I only desire to return to my ship, to my wife and our child."

"Really?" the Hirogen said. "I thought I saw it in your eyes. With the proper training, you could become a champion."

"Until my ship comes to rescue us, my only goal is to survive."

"Do you know the difference between a survivor and a champion here? There isn't one."

The sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching ended the conversation. Penk walked in, flanked by two guards. He stepped into her cell while the Hirogen moved to the side.

He was smiling that punchable smile again, and she wondered if even Naomi would hold it against her if she broke a few of his teeth.

"I wanted to be the first to congratulate you," Penk said.

"I lost," Seven said.

"Exactly," Penk said with a chuckle. "There's a great deal of hostility toward the Borg in this sector. Whenever the Pendari landed a blow, our audience grew. We're getting tens of thousands of requests to see you fight again."

"She needs time to recuperate," the Hirogen said. "to prepare for the next bout."

"I agree," Penk said without even looking at the Hirogen. "There's a red match scheduled for tomorrow. The Pendari was supposed to compete, but I've entered you in his place." Penk laughed and started to leave, but turned around, smiling at Seven again. "If three billion people paid to see you hurt, imagine how many will pay to see you die."

Once he was gone, Seven sighed. "Survival may be more difficult than I imagined."

"You will win the match," the Hirogen said, smiling himself, but looking up at the ceiling.

"Why do you say that?" Seven said.

"I know your opponent; I know his weaknesses. I can train you to defeat him."

"I told you, I will not kill anyone in that arena," Seven said.

"Consider the alternative," the Hirogen said.

Seven stood up. She turned to look at Tuvok. She thought about Sam and Naomi, how the latter had just come out the other side of one trauma relatively unscathed.  
 _I can't leave them_ , she thought. _Even if they look at me differently if they know what I had to do to survive, that would have to be better than dealing with losing me like this_.

"Teach me," she said.

* * *

Seven had lost track of time. She was uncertain if the training had gone on for only a few hours, or if it was the next day already. She had managed to compartmentalize, keeping thoughts of her loved ones and how worried they must be at bay, or at least enough to keep her from losing focus on the lessons her Hirogen teacher were giving her.

"You're letting your elbow fall, exposing your target," the Hirogen said.

"You're mistaken. My arm is positioned properly," Seven said. "'When executing the Tanyk Defense, the blocking elbow must remain parallel to the median sensor,'" she added.

"Ah, The Book of Tsunkatse," the Hirogen said. "I see you've studied it well."

"Tuvok borrowed it from one of the other fighters," Seven said. "I am attempting to perfect a defense based on-"

The Hirogen cut her off with an attack that caught her off guard and her on the ground in seconds.

"That was not one of the 33 sanctioned maneuvers," she said, as she got up, the Hirogen still kneeling in the spot where he landed after his strike.

"There must be 34 then," he said.

"I was unprepared for your attack," she said, realizing as the words left her mouth that that was the point.

"Is that what you're going to say to your opponent?" the Hirogen asked. "Stop thinking like a drone. Sanctioned maneuvers, perfecting defenses? You cannot assimilate Tsunkatse from a book. You must live it. Feel it. In your heart. Your movements must become instinct. An attack could come at any time from any direction. You must learn to improvise."

"Like this?" Seven said, before delivering a swift but intentionally short kick that allowed her to quickly to punch him in the side when he raised his arms to block. The Hirogen cried out in pain from the hit. "I've observed you often favor your left side."

"Very perceptive," the Hirogen said while he rubbed the point of impact from the punch. "It's a wound I sustained in one of my first matches. After 19 years it still hasn't healed properly."

"You've been here a long time," Seven said.

"I was taken during my son's first hunt," the Hirogen said. "He was so proud to be with his father. Watching every movement I made imitating my gestures." He took a deep breath. The next words that came out were tinged with anger. "But instead of bringing home his first trophy he saw his father become someone else's prey."

"Do you know what happened to him?" Seven asked.

"I never saw him again," the Hirogen said. Seven felt empathy for him. "All Penk would say was that the boy was too small for competition."

"Perhaps he managed to return home," Seven said, though deep down she knew that was overly optimistic. She stepped forward, but the Hirogen, while still favoring his side, hit her with a sudden kick, knocking her back into a wall. He charged, fist raised as if ready to strike, but he stopped.

"You lowered your defenses," he said, calmly, as though he hadn't just kicked her hard enough to almost knock out her breath. "Why?"

"I was..." Seven said, pausing to take a breath.

"What?" the Hirogen asked. "Feeling sorry for me? My tragic past?"

"Yes," Seven said.

"You must never sympathize with your prey. Unless you accept that, you will die." He stepped back, lowering his fist and returning to the center of the room. "We'll continue."

* * *

"Has Mister Neelix returned to the pick up point?" Chakotay asked Lieutenant Kittrick.

"Not just yet sir," she said. "But he isn't due for another two minutes, and he has checked in regularly."

"I know," Chakotay said. "I'd just rather not see another one of my crew being forced to fight against their will."

"Understood sir," Kittrick said. "Though, I did hear that Seven of Nine handled herself pretty well down there."

"That she did," Chakotay admitted.

"And I also heard that the outfit they put her in was-"

"You do know she's married, right Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Chakotay shook his head. The crew had been given more slack than usual since the encounter with the Nakan massacre memorial. Perhaps it was time to tighten things up a bit again. Not to the level that they would be if they were in the Alpha Quadrant of course, but as the Captain herself had said several years ago, that ship had long since sailed.

"Neelix is reporting in," Kittrick said.

"Beam him up," Chakotay said. Soon, Neelix was stepping off the transporter platform and walking right up to him.

"How did it go?" Chakotay asked. When Neelix replied, Chakotay struggled to remember a time before when he had heard the Talaxian speak with so much sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, the Norcadians were shocked to learn that off-worlders might be participating in the fights against their will. The ambassador promised to being an immediate investigation."

"You don't buy it," Chakotay said. It was not phrased as a question.

"Not for a nanosecond. I spoke to one of the Pendari delegates. According to him, a huge percentage of the planet's revenue is derived from Tsunkatse. Nobody wants to do anything that might interfere with the game."

"So," Chakotay said, "they turn a blind eye to the recruitment tactics."

"We're not going to get any help through official channels," Neelix said. "It's hard to accept that a civilization's favorite pastime is cheering innocent people who fight each other."

"If Seven and Tuvok hadn't been abducted," Chakotay said as he and Neelix headed for the turbolift, "we might still be cheering too."

The two of them made their way to the astrometrics lab, where B'Elanna Torres and Harry Kim were hard at work.

"What have you got?" Chakotay said as he entered the lab.

"Well," B'Elanna said, "one of the reasons we were having trouble isolating the source of the transmissions was because they never seem to be coming from the same place twice."

B'Elanna pulled up a map of the sector on the lab's large screen. "At first," she continued, "we thought the matches were being held in different locations. But then we realized that what we were looking at was a flight path."

"They're transmitting the fights from a ship," Chakotay said.

"Like a travelling carnival," Harry said, entering a command on his console, bringing up long range scans of the ship they believed to be holding their people. "A heavily armed and armored carnival. Five million metric tons, reinforced hull plating protected by covariant shielding, neutronic weaponry."

"It's way out of our weight class," B'Elanna said.

"The bigger they come, Lieutenant," Chakotay said. He turned to Harry. "Transmit these coordinates to the Captain. Tell her we could use a hand."

* * *

"Excellent," the Hirogen said, after Seven completed a display of some of the techniques he'd shown her. "When your opponent enters the arena, what do you see?"

"My prey," Seven said.

"And what do you do to your prey?"

"Hunt it down and kill it."

"Go rest before your match," the Hirogen said. He then turned and walked away. Seven in turn headed in the opposite direction. Part way there, she turned.

"Thank you," she said to the Hirogen.

"Thank me by winning," he said, tapping his chest.

Seven continued on. She now stood next to Tuvok, who was able to move around and more alert now thanks to the Hirogen's treatments. He was working on trying to disable the ship's shields and dampening field from a panel he had opened.

"Penk's guards are doing their inspection rounds," she said. "Progress?"

"Without access to a control interface I can't disable the shields from here," Tuvok said. "Your training?"

"Complete," Seven said.

"Are you adequately prepared?" Tuvok said as he replaced the panel he'd removed.

"The Hirogen is an efficient instructor," she said, sighing. "He believes I'll win."

"This troubles you?" Tuvok asked.

"The idea of killing someone for the entertainment of others is detestable," Seven said.

"Is the idea of losing your own life for the entertainment of others more palatable? As a drone, you took many lives."

"I was acting as part of the collective," Seven said.

"You're worried you won't have the strength to accomplish the task on your own."

"No," Seven said. She thought back to the _Equinox_ when she had taken Captain Ransom's comm badge away from him, condemning him to death to the alien species he had been exploiting. She still had never spoken of it to anyone, not even to the Captain, who had given her the order to make sure Ransom remained behind as part of the agreement to spare _Voyager_ and the other _Equinox_ survivors. She hadn't thought about it until now, had pushed it out of her head so she could say with a straight face to Penk that she wasn't a murderer. "I'm afraid that I do."

A hatch at another end of the room opened, and one of Penk's guard stepped in, soon followed by Penk himself.

"It's time," he said.

Seven headed towards the door, ready to face whatever happened, and hopeful that if she did have to kill, again, that her beloved Samantha wouldn't be seeing it happen on live broadcast. As she moved, Tuvok grabbed her arm.

"Do whatever it takes to survive," he said.

Seven didn't reply. She simply took in a deep breath and followed Penk's guards as they escorted her to the entrance to the arena. She could hear the music starting, the sound of cheering crowds. The door opened and she stepped out, walking to the end of the arena and turning around so she would be facing her opponent when whoever it was stepped out. The crowd jeered as she walked. They wanted to see her blood spilled. She intended to disappoint them.

The music reached a crescendo, and her opponent stepped into the light, and her jaw hung open when she saw who it was. The Hirogen.

 _Bastard_ , she thought. "You knew," she said, as the two of them began to slowly circle each other.

"Yes," the Hirogen said. The buzzing noise indicating that the match had started went off, but neither sentient made a move just yet.

"Training me was a deception," Seven said. "You wished to familiarize yourself with my weaknesses."

"I was helping you to overcome them," the Hirogen said, feigning an attack, causing Seven to take a defensive stance.

"Why?"

"19 years is a long time," the Hirogen said. "I've grown tired."

"You wish to be killed in the arena," Seven said.

"I want a death my son would be proud of."

"I won't be the one to provide it," Seven said.

"Then I will be forced to kill you," the Hirogen said, sounding disappointed.

* * *

"Approaching the vessel," Tom said. _Voyager_ was already at red alert, Chakotay in the Captain's chair. The Commander still held some hope they could avoid a fight, but it was a slim hope. Luckily, he knew he could count on Tom to outfly that other ship. What _Voyager_ lacked in armory it more than made up for in maneuverability compared to it.

"Take us out of warp," Chakotay said. "Raise shields and charge weapons. Harry, any sign of Tuvok and Seven?"

"Our sensors can't penetrate their shields," Harry said with a heavy sigh. Chakotay couldn't blame him. That was hardly the first time he'd had to give that exact report.

"Hail them," Chakotay said. The viewscreen showed a small office. A Norcadian sat down at a desk facing the viewscreen.

"This is not a convenient time," he said.

"I'm Commander Chakotay of the starship _Voyager_. You're holding two of my people."

"You'll have to be more specific," the Norcadian said, as if being accused of abduction was an everyday thing for him As far as Chakotay knew, perhaps it was..

"Commander Tuvok and Seven of Nine. Return them, now."

"The Borg drone and her friend. Hmm. I'm afraid she's occupied at the moment."

"You have 30 seconds before I open fire," Chakotay said, already sick of this man's bureaucratic tone.

The Norcadian leaned forward and locked his fingers. "A fighter. I respect that. But you're no match for me." He touched a button on his desk, and the connection was cut, the viewscreen returning to a view of the ship.

"That went about as well as I expected," Chakotay said.

* * *

"We can still find another way out of this," Seven said, after having sent the Hirogen to the ground with a well placed strike to his back.

"There is no other way," the Hirogen said. Seven got into an offensive stance. "You're still dropping your elbow." He kicked. Seven blocked it, but the time it took her to do so allowed the Hirogen to get in close and deliver two swift punches to the sensor on her back, each hit sending a shock through her body painful enough to make her cry out, though not enough to make her lose her balance.

"Make your choice," the Hirogen said. "Hunter, or prey?" Seven refused to answer. The Hirogen twisted her arm. "Hunter or prey!" He repeated. Seven managed to break his hold on her arm and sent him flying backwards with a swift kick to the face. She pressed in delivering multiple blows to his chest sensor, making him wince with each hit. She successfully dodged a punch, using the momentum to get behind him and deliver a kick to his back sensor, which glowed as he grunted in pain. He took another swing, but missed. This was not him throwing the fight however, Seven could tell. He was getting tired. She was winning. Her train of thought derailed quickly when the Hirogen broke through and landed a kick on her chest sensor, causing her to stumble back into the wall. She narrowly avoided a punch to the face, ducking as he charged her.

* * *

"Direct hit to their aft shield generators," Lydia Anderson said from tactical.

"Still can't get a lock on Seven," Harry said, "but I've got Tuvok."

"We can't beam him up yet," Chakotay said, "our shields are still up. Keep targeting those shield generators. If the whole thing comes down they might surrender rather than risk us rupturing their hull."

The ship shuddered under the impact of enemy fire. The shields were holding, but just barely. It would've been worse, but Tom's piloting had kept a good portion of the enemy fire from hitting them at all. Chakotay knew that luck couldn't hold out forever though.

"Shields down to 40 percent," Anderson said after the last hit.

"Harry, can we at least get an idea where the arena might be on the ship?"

"Not sure how but I'll think of something," Harry said.

"Make it fast," Chakotay said.

* * *

"You're getting weak," the Hirogen said as he back-handed Seven across the face. She stumbled, tried to straighten up, only to get knocked violently backwards when the Hirogen hit her with both fists, one into each shoulder blade. "I should've found worthier prey." He charged forward, and used his momentum to flip Seven over his back, sending her crashing to the floor with a loud grunt.

The fight was taking its toll on her. Even with her enhanced strength, even with the knowledge of multiple fighting techniques, and even with the desire to see Samantha and Naomi again driving her, she was all but spent. Her breathing was ragged, her muscles were sore, and she could feel the bruises forming on her body.

"Perhaps your mate will find someone stronger next time," the Hirogen said.

That touched a nerve in Seven. Without even thinking she got back up and with speed that surprised even her she went from that to a jump kick that struck the Hirogen in the face, hard enough to send him to the floor. He tried to get up and she kicked him, knocking him back down, He rolled and tried to stand up again, but she met him with another kick that knocked him on his back. Seven stepped back, allowing him to get back up.

"Is that the best you can do?" he said, right before Seven delivered another kick to the face, one to his chest sensor, and then punched him right in the eye socket. The Hirogen stumbled back and groaned as he hit the wall.

* * *

"Shields are down!" Anderson yelled after the last volley of enemy fire hit _Voyager_.

"Tom?" Chakotay said.

"Doing what I can," he said.

"Might as well beam Tuvok out," Chakotay said. "Any luck finding Seven?"

"I've got an idea," Harry said "Of where she is I mean. There's a part of the ship that has different shielding than the rest. My guess is that's where the arena is. The problem is, it's multiphasic. I can't get a clean scan through it."

"Should I get us out of here before they knock out our propulsion?" Tom asked.

"Not yet," Chakotay said. "If we can't beam her out, maybe we can shut down the transmission."

"If nobody's watching, why continue the fight," Tom said, nodding. "Good thinking."

"B'Elanna?" Chakotay said. "Figure out a way to jam the signals coming from that ship. Time to ruin a lot of fight fans day. Lydia, start targeting their signal generators."  
Anderson's reply was cut off by a violent shudder as the ship was hit. Sparks flew from somewhere, Chakotay couldn't quite tell where, as he'd instinctively covered his face when he saw the flash.

"Hull breach, deck 11," Harry called out.

* * *

Seven pressed her assault on the Hirogen. If killing him was what it took to see her family again, then she would do it. This was not a difficult moral quandary that would weigh her down for the rest of her life like with Ransom, this was pure, simple, survival. With her teeth gritted, she punched him in the face several times, knocking him back. She ran to the nearest wall and braced herself on it as the Hirogen charged at her. She greeted him with a hard kick to his chest sensor that lifted him clear off his feet and flipped him over, dropping him to the floor with the loudest thud Seven had heard yet the entire battle. The crowd, wherever they were, rose to their feet and began the "Tsunkat!" chant. Obviously the excitement of the match had overrule their hatred of the Borg, and they were now cheering for her.

* * *

Chakotay felt the deck rock under him as the ship took another hit.

"That one took out our weapons," Anderson said.

"Another vessel's approaching," Tom said. "It's the calvary."

Chakotay looked up as the viewscreen showed the _Delta Flyer_ swooped in and began firing at the arena ship, its small size allowing it to more easily dodge the counter attacks, while _Voyager_ 's shuddering lessened as some of the fire was no longer directed at them.

"Hail her," Chakotay said.

"Channel open," Harry said.

"Good to see you, Captain," Chakotay said.

"Nothing like getting back to work after a long vacation," Janeway said.

"We need you to target their signal generators," Chakotay said.

The viewscreen showed the _Flyer_ firing it's phasers, getting in closer than Voyager ever could, and blowing part one of the many satellite dish-like protrusions on the side of the arena ship.

"Good shot, Kathryn," Chakotay said.

"They've reduced power to their force fields," Harry said, "trying to compensate for the loss of that transmitter by directing it to the others. I'm able to pick up two lifesigns. One's Seven, the other's a Hirogen. I can't get an individual lock though."

"Get them both," Chakotay said. "Anderson, send a security team to transport room one."

"Aye sir," she said.

* * *

Seven let loose a flurry of punches, none of them as strong as some of the others she'd thrown, but each one still managed to keep the Hirogen off balance. She grunted with each connection. He managed to get in several shots of his own against her chest sensor, each hit sending intense, painful shocks through her body, but she refused to fall. This had gone on long enough for her. Either he went down, or she did. She broke through his defenses and hit his chest sensors several times, causing him to fall backwards, crying out in pain. She didn't allow him the luxury of lying down. She grabbed him by his uniform and held him up with one hand as she repeatedly hit his chest sensor, watching the red glow and hearing his grunts of pain with each hit.

Eventually, he buckled and fell to the ground. She knelt next to him and raised her arms, ready to bring both fists down on his chest sensor, but she hesitated, something she did not expect..

"Never… let your prey suffer," the Hirogen said weakly, clearly spent, and accepting his defeat. "Kill it."

She prepared to deliver what probably be the killing blow, when she felt the familiar tingle of a transporter beam engulfing her. When the beam was gone, she was on one of _Voyager's_ transporter pads, her arms still raised, ready to strike, her breathing heavy, but she could not bring herself to move. She glanced to her right, and saw Lieutenant Ayala and two other security officers flanking him, all with hand phasers at the ready.

"Seven?" Ayala said.

"It's all right," Seven said, slowly lowering her arms. "This fight is over."

She stood up, then held out her arm. The Hirogen, his own breathing labored, sighed, and took it, allowing her to help him up.

* * *

Samantha sat on the sickbay bio-bed next to Seven, holding her hand while the Doctor scanned her. Both women knew it was not necessary, but neither cared. Both listened quietly while Commander Chakotay spoke to the Hirogen.

 _I had no idea they were that spread out_ , Samantha thought. _To find Hirogen this far out from where we first encountered them, with the transwarp conduits, wormholes, and subspace catapults we've come across since then? It's a wonder any Hirogen ever see each other, let alone us_.

"We found a Hirogen hunting party less than three light years away," Chakotay said. "They've agreed to rendezvous with us."

"I'm grateful," the Hirogen said. Chakotay left, and the Hirogen looked at Seven.

"Doctor, would you leave us for a moment?" Seven said.

"Very well," the Doctor said, nervously. "But if you should need anything, like an analgesic, or a phaser rifle…"

"That won't be necessary, Doctor," Seven said.

"Do you want me to step outside too, hun?" Sam said.

"No," Seven said, squeezing Sam's hand gently. "That's not necessary."

The Hirogen stood up, and slowly walked over to them, nodding politely at Sam. "A phaser rifle?" he said.

"I apologize for the Doctor," Seven said. "He's a bit overprotective of me."

 _No argument there_ , Sam thought.

"He doesn't realize how well you defend yourself," the Hirogen said. He looked down, and ripped the chest sensor on his outfit off, handing it to Seven. "A trophy."

"Thank you," Seven said. "What will you do now? Search for new prey?"

"No. This time I will be searching for my son."

"If he is as clever as his father," Seven said, "he may be difficult to locate."

"I've been wondering," the Hirogen asked, "would you have killed me?"

Seven looked at Sam. Sam simply put a hand on her shoulder. Seven looked back at the Hirogen, who patiently waited for an answer.

"I don't know," Seven said. Sam wondered if that was for her benefit. _She must think I would stop loving her if she said yes_ , she thought. She leaned over and kissed Seven on the cheek.

"You were doing what you had to do to survive, to come back to me," she said. "I wouldn't think any less of you if you had."

"Your mate speaks wisely," the Hirogen said. "You would do well to listen to her."

Seven smiled, looking at Sam but speaking to the Hirogen. "You aren't the first sentient to tell me that."

"Well, fortunately you were right. There was another way out," the Hirogen said. With a polite nod to both Seven and Sam, the Hirogen turned around and left.

Seven sighed and leaned into Samantha. "Did you mean that?" she asked.

"Of course I did. I don't like violence, I've never hidden that. But there is big difference between murder and self-defense. If you'd enjoyed killing him, that would be something to worry about, but the fact that you didn't want to is proof to me that you're a good person. And it should be proof to you too."

Seven nodded, and glanced over in the direction of the Doctor's office. "Sam, I have a question to ask you."

"What is it Annie?"

"I was led to believe you did not like the way I looked in silver, is this correct?"

"You're talking about the silver monstrosity right?" Sam said. "No, the color was actually the least of that uniform's problems. It was just badly designed. That collar looked like it was cutting off your circulation. Why do you ask?"

"Because I couldn't help but notice that since you got to sickbay that your eyes have occasionally wandered downward from where my face is," Seven said.

"Ah," Samantha said, feeling herself begin to blush. "Well, I mean, it is rather, um." Sam looked around herself to see if the Doctor had reentered. "You wouldn't mind keeping it would you?"

Seven sighed. "I know you love me for many reasons, but there are times when I wonder… Fine, I'll keep the outfit. But I'm not keeping the target sensors."

"I wasn't going to ask you to," Sam said. "But even with them, it looks good on you."

Seven laughed. "One could make the case that you are unhealthily obsessed with my breasts, Samantha Wildman."

"You're only noticing this now?" Sam said, with a wink.

"What are you two giggling about?" the Doctor said as he reentered from his office.

"Nothing that is any of your concern," Seven said.

 **Chapter Eight**

The silence was getting to be too much for Chakotay, but he couldn't blame anyone other than himself. It had been his idea after all to choose three crew members who'd had no time in _Delta Flyer_ for this away mission after all. It just never occurred to him that none of the three had any particular desire to learn how to fly it. Chell simply complained about the cramped quarters, despite the Maquis ship he'd served on with Chakotay having been much more compact inside despite being a bigger ship. Vorik cared more about the engines than the helm. Lydia Anderson simply waited patiently for an opportunity to test out the Borg enhanced weapons systems Tom and Seven had designed, but that looked decreasingly likely.

Eventually, getting to be too much became too much.

"We're still hours away from contact with _Voyager_ ," Chakotay said. "I don't suppose anyone has any ideas to pass the time?"

"Not really, no," Chell said. "Unless everyone's okay with me playing some Bolian music again."

"No thanks," Lydia said. "It was great the first three times, but if I hear a song too many times in a row, even a good one, I start to hate it."

"There is logic to that," Vorik said. "I believe the human term for that is 'too much of a good thing?'"

"We could always try poker," Chakotay said, even though he doubted any of the others knew how to play.

"Never played it," Lydia said. "Honestly. I don't mean that in the 'I'll pretend to be ignorant to lull you into a false sense of security and win' kind of way."

"I love poker," Chell said. "I played it a lot with my friends in the colonies before I signed up with the Maquis. Only won half the time though. Guess I don't have a good po- Oh dear."

"What is it?" Chakotay asked, wondering why Chell suddenly looked startled.

"Oh hell," Lydia said, suddenly sitting at attention. Both of them, and now Vorik too were staring out the Flyer's viewport. Chakotay turned around, and saw, close enough for visual confirmation, a Borg cube heading straight towards them.

 _Oh shit_ , he thought. "Beginning evasive maneuvers. Anderson, get the weapons on-line. Chell, try sending a distress call to _Voyager_."

The cube began firing at the _Flyer_ , but missed wildly, almost as if it were a warning shot. Chakotay also noticed that the cube looked damaged as he brought the _Flyer_ around to try and get away from the cube.

"Why didn't our sensors detect them?" Chell said. "The Borg aren't exactly known for stealth."

"It would appear they used a dispersal field to mask their approach," Vorik said.

That had Chakotay worried. Chell was right, the Borg did not typically use stealth. Or ever, as far as he knew. If the Borg were starting to use more creative tactics in their expansion…

"We just took a hit to our plasma injectors," Anderson said. "We can't go to warp."

"Vorik, get below, see what you can do."

"Aye sir," the Vulcan engineer said as he exited the cabin.

"Sir," Anderson said, "the cube's power output is fluctuating."

"Then we have a chance," Chakotay said. "I'm bringing us about. Lydia, target their propulsion matrix."

"What good will that do?" Chell said.

"Look at that cube, Chell," Chakotay said. "It's a mess, and it isn't regenerating. Their weapons fire is badly targeted. What hits they've gotten in on us so far have been lucky shots. If the cube is hurt bad enough, that means we might be able to disable them and get away."

Chakotay brought the _Flyer_ in close to the cube, the shuttle mere meters away from the Borg's hull. "Fire torpedoes," he said.

"We've taken out their propulsion systems," Lydia said. "The cube is moving solely on inertia now."

"Good," Chakotay said. "I'm getting us out of-"

The ship shuddered.

"They've got us in a tractor beam," Chell said, panic creeping into his voice.

"Vorik, do we have warp power?"

"Two additional relays were damaged in the attack," Vorik said. "I am unable to-" The sound of a small explosion cut him off, and Chakotay feared the worst.

"Vorik, report," he said. No response. The lights in the Delta Flyer dimmed, and the familiar, emotionless, multi-track resonant voice of the Borg Collective filled the small vessel.

"We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."

As Chakotay watched, feeling helpless to do anything, a massive hatch opened in the side of the cube as the tractor beam pulled them in.

* * *

Chakotay awoke in a room that he recognized from looking at schematics of Borg vessels as an assimilation chamber. Surprisingly, he was still himself. He looked around and saw that the other three were too. Vorik had some minor burns on his hands, but nothing severe. He carefully woke them up, and soon all four of them were on their feet, looking around.

"Sir?" Chell said. Chakotay and the others turned to see what the Bolian was looking at. A dead Borg drone lie on a table. The drone looked about as beat up as the cube itself had. Whatever had hurt this cube had done a number on it, that was beyond dispute.

"There's a force field around this room," Chakotay said. "But they haven't assimilated us yet, so if we stay calm there's a chance we can get out of this. Vorik, how are your hands?"

Vorik looked at them, and flexed the fingers. If he felt any pain when he did so, his face did not show it, but with a Vulcan that wasn't a guarantee that he didn't.

"Some minor irritation. Mostly an itching sensation. My motor skills appear unimpeded."

"Good to hear," Chakotay said, finding some assimilation tools on the table with the drone. He picked one up and handed it to Vorik. "Let's see about getting that force field down."

* * *

"Their ion trail ends directly ahead," Tuvok said.

Captain Janeway was about to ask Tuvok to search for any signs of debris or weapons fire, but Harry Kim spoke up first. "I'm detecting another vessel," he said, "bearing 30 mark 112. It's a Borg cube."

Janeway stood up. "Red alert. Alter course to intercept," she said. She had managed to rescue someone from the Borg before, and that was before Seven of Nine had shared her theory about the Borg degradation. A small part of her thought that she was being reckless, and taking it for granted that the Borg weren't the threat they had been mere years before, but she ignored it. "Adjust shields to rotating frequencies. Have they detected us?"

"Unclear," Tuvok said. "The vessel is holding position."

"As soon as we're within life sign sensor range start scanning for the away team," Janeway said.

"Their propulsion system is off-line," Seven of Nine said from the auxiliary tactical console, where she had since the search for the _Delta Flyer_ began. "The damage is not that severe, the drones should've repaired it by now. In fact, the cube should've detected us by now. It appears to be badly damaged."

"On screen," Janeway said. The image of the cube appeared in front of her, and right away she could tell that not only was Seven right, she was actually understating it. She had seen intact cubes, and cubes that had been reduced to rubble, but never anything in the middle of those two extremes until now. "Any sign of our people?" she said to Harry.

"Not yet," he said. A half-second later, _Voyager_ shuddered as the ship was hit with weapons fire from the cube.

"They are targeting our warp core," Tuvok said. "Shields are holding."

 _Shields are holding_ , Janeway thought. _That's not usually a phrase we use when fighting the Borg_. "Return fire. Aim for their weapons array." The ship shuddered as another wave of weapons fire hit.

"Now they're going after our impulse engines," Harry said, sounding perplexed. "Not doing a very good job of it though." Another shudder. "That one was meant for our sensors. Are their targeting scanners off-line? A Pakled could do a better job of shooting us."

"No need for exaggeration, Lieutenant," Janeway said.

"Their attack strategy is erratic, inefficient," Seven said.

"And finished," Tuvok said. "We have disabled their weapons."

"They must be in worse shape than they look," Janeway said.

"I'm picking up four life signs," Harry said. "Non-Borg. I think it's our crew. They don't appear to have been assimilated yet."

"Try to get a transporter lock," Janeway said.

"What's left of their shields are interfering," Harry said.

"Target the generator and fire," Janeway said.

"Captain," Seven said, "I believe I can explain the unusual behavior of these Borg. There should be thousands manning this vessel, yet I'm picking up only five signatures."

The Borg cube hailed _Voyager_ , and gave their usual spiel about resistance being futile, but unlike other times where that standard Borg greeting had filled Janeway with dread, grim determination, or both, it rang hollow to her ears. Five drones, running a ship that big? Even with Borg intelligence that had to be a remarkable strain.

"Their shield generators are too deep inside the vessel to target," Tuvok said.

Janeway frowned. If this had been a trap of some sort set by the Borg Queen, there was a greater than fair chance it would've been sprung by now. Something else was going on here, and she wanted to know what.

"Open a channel," she said. "Borg vessel, this is the starship _Voyager_. You're holding our crewmen. We're willing to cease firing if you return them."

"Negotiation is irrelevant. You will be assimilated."

"Not today, and not by you. Agree, or I'll resume firing."

"They are scanning us," Tuvok said.

Only a second passed before the Borg spoke up again.

"We will return your crew members in exchange for specific pieces of technology."

"What the heck?" Harry said.

"What technology?" Janeway said, surprised by the request.

"Your navigational deflector. Disengage it from your secondary hull."

"Mute audio," Janeway said. "If we surrender our deflector we'll be all but dead in space. Any faster than a crawl and we risk a micro-meteor rupturing the hull. What would they want with it?"

"Their communications array was damaged," Seven said. "Their link to the collective was severed. They intend to adapt our deflector to regain it."

"Yeah, we're not doing that," Janeway said. "We need to stall them until we can find another way out of this." She motioned to Tuvok to reopen the channel, and she began speaking to the Borg again. "I'll consider the exchange, but first I want to be certain that my crew members are unharmed and alive."

"You have scanned our vessel," the Borg said.

"Our scans were inconclusive," Janeway said. "We want to see them for ourselves."

"You may transport one individual," the Borg said.

Janeway turned to face Seven, and nodded.

"Are you certain?" Seven said.

"Yes," Janeway said, and she believed it. Under any other circumstance she wouldn't have even considered sending Seven of Nine over to a Borg ship again, but this was a unique situation. Perhaps even an opportunity, but she was keeping that idea to herself for now. Seven nodded herself before heading for the turbolift.

* * *

Seven of Nine beamed aboard the damaged cube and began walking around. Apart from a single dead drone, she didn't see any sign of activity anywhere. Many lights in the corridors were flickering or burnt out completely. She entered one corridor, still searching for the missing crew, and found more dead drones. She took out a tricorder and scanned one of them.

"Proceed to Grid 63, Subjunction 1," the voice of the Collective said. Over the ship's internal speakers, not to her. It was as though the drones on this ship did not recognize one of their own, not even a former one. She closed her tricorder, intending to look at the data it collected later, and headed in the direction she was told, hoping to find Chakotay and the others.

She arrived at the destination, and was shocked at what she found there; a Borg neonatal unit, an infant still inside one of the chambers. She heard a noise behind her. She turned, hand going to the phaser on her belt, but stopped when she saw five children. Five assimilated children. At least one of them appeared to have been very recently taken, as she still had her hair. The other four were boys. A set of twins, and two more who were taller than them and the girl.

"State your designation," the voice of the Collective said.

"Seven of Nine," Seven said, moving towards the children. "These drones have not fully matured. Where are the others?"

"There are no others. The drones aboard this vessel were-"

"-deactivated," the second tallest of the boys said aloud, stepping forward. The voice of the Collective was fading. "We are the Borg."

 _This is going in the "I did not see that coming" file_ , Seven thought.

"Seven of Nine," the second-tallest said. "A Borg designation."

"She is like us," the girl said.

"Not like us," the tallest boy said, walking towards her now, head tilted in a very human-like display of curiosity. "She is damaged. Her infrastructure has been removed."

"We could fix her," the girl said.

"You will add to our perfection," the tallest said.

"You are neonatal drones," Seven said, not feeling the slightest bit of concern that these drones could actually do anything to her. If anything, she was starting to feel insulted by the way they spoke about her. She was also aware of the irony of that feeling, given how often she had spoken in such terms about herself and her crewmates when she had first been brought on to _Voyager's_ crew. "You should still be in maturation chambers."

"We have matured long enough," second-tallest said.

Seven decided that rolling her eyes would be pushing her luck. Instead she stuck to basic facts, hoping to quickly get them out of her so she could find Chakotay and the others.

"Doubtful," she said. "Your thoracic nodes haven't formed yet. You're incomplete. You'll continue to malfunction. You must return to your maturation chambers"

"We tried to go back in," the tallest said. "The chambers were off-line."

"What happened to the adult drones?" Seven asked.

"We don't know," one of the twins said.

"Irrelevant," second-tallest said, sounding belligerent. Seven was sure he was going to be a problem. Seven went over to a near-by console and began manipulating the controls.

"This vessel has been severely damaged," she said. "You won't be able to repair it alone. I can help you, but first you must release the hostages."

"That wasn't the agreement," second-tallest said.

"I've modified the agreement," Seven said in a firm tone of voice. These Borg children weren't acting like drones. Already one of them, the second-tallest, was clearly trying to assert dominance. She didn't like the idea of getting into what her human crewmates would call a 'pissing contest,' but she also knew that if she didn't these incomplete drones could present a problem later. "I didn't realize I'd be dealing with children. Your behavior is erratic. I can't be certain that you-"

"No modifications," second-tallest said. Seven quietly hoped to herself that Naomi would act in such a fashion once she hit puberty, as she'd heard unpleasant stories of how humans, even half-humans, acted during their teenage years. "We show you the hostages, you give us the deflector."

 _Less than five minutes with this kid and I already want to punt him through the bulkhead_ , she thought.

"Comply," second-tallest said forcefully. Seven didn't respond, verbally or non-verbally. She simply stood there, and stared at him. He stepped forward, shoving the girl aside. "Comply!"

She stared for another few seconds, and the child drones made no more threatening moves. If they were capable of harming her, they would've done so already. Second-tallest was posturing, nothing more.

"Take me to them," she said. The children cleared a path for her, the girl taking the lead and the tallest falling in behind her as she walked.

Before she fully exited the chamber however, Second-tallest said to the tallest; "If she tries to resist, assimilate her."

 _I'd like to see you try_ , she thought. As the three of them walked down another corridor, this one so cluttered with dead drones that stepping over them slowed their progress, Seven decided to start speaking to the tallest boy.

"Do you have a designation?"

"Second," the boy said.

"You were the second to exit the maturation chamber," Seven said.

"No. The first. I could not establish order. I became second… and he became first."

"So you've established a chain of command," Seven said. "A hierarchy."

"We're a collective," the girl said.

"A collective of five, on a vessel normally run by five thousand," Seven said. "What makes you think you'll survive?"

"When we reestablish our link with the Borg," Second said, "they will come for us."

Seven raised an eyebrow. Years ago she wouldn't have doubted that was true. In fact, years ago it had been true, such as a time when as a drone her ship had crashed and there had only been three survivors beside herself, and the Borg had come for them after a short time. However, since then, she had personally witnessed several Borg ships badly damaged or destroyed, with no sign that the Collective even noticed let alone sent other ships to retrieve any salvageable technology or drones.

Second and the girl got ahead of Seven. Had she wanted to, she easily could've given them the slip at this juncture. They were poor escorts. She followed them regardless however, as she was going where they were anyway.

The children eventually stopped in front of an assimilation chamber with a force field around the door. Seven could see Chakotay and the others inside, all surprised to see her, except for Vorik of course.

"I wish to see if they are injured," Seven said to the children. Without saying a word, the force field dropped, and she stepped inside.

"Seven?" Chakotay said.

"Are you injured?" Seven said, taking out her tricorder.

"Nothing serious," Chakotay said. Seven noticed something in the corner of her eye, and she looked down at the dead drone on the table. She realized something was wrong with this one.

"This appears to have been a failed attempt at assimilation," she said.

"Ugh, that's creepy," Chell said.

"We were trying to perfect our assimilation technique," Second said.

"You failed," Seven said, repulsed by what she was seeing.

"One of the captives was attempting to disable the security field," the girl said.

"That is standard procedure for captives," Seven of Nine said to the girl. She turned to Chakotay. "That may not be necessary now, however. The Borg are prepared to negotiate for your release. I will return shortly."

Seven stepped out into the corridor, the security field going back up behind her.

"The deflector array," Second said.

"I am not authorized to give you technology," Seven said. "I must return to Captain Janeway to report on the status of the hostages."

Second looked unsure, but agreed. "I must also take an adult drone and a data node back to _Voyager_ for analysis."

"Why?" the girl said.

"Something happened to this cube that none of us understand," Seven said, "If it happens again it could endanger all of you."

Second simply nodded. Seven worried for a moment that second-tallest, or First as she supposed she should call him now, might respond negatively enough to harm Second and the girl, but she pushed those thoughts aside. The mission had to take priority.

* * *

Captain Janeway entered sickbay, Tuvok following close behind. The Doctor was scanning the dead drone Seven of Nine had brought back with her, while Seven herself stood off to the side.

"What have we learned from our friend here?" Janeway said.

"The bigger they come," The Doctor said, closing his medical tricorder, "the harder they fall." He walked over to a nearby console and called up images of his scans. "Behold the David that slew our Goliath."

"A pathogen?" Janeway said, surprised at what she saw.

"A spaceborne virus that adapted to Borg physiology. It's inert now, but in its virulent state it attacked the drones and killed them."

"Why weren't the juveniles infected?" Tuvok asked.

"The maturation chamber is designed to protect developing drones," Seven said. "Malfunctions caused by the deaths of the adults lead several of the chambers to open prematurely."

"Does this pathogen only target the Borg?" Tuvok asked.

"The Borg, and any other cybernetic organisms it encounters," The Doctor said. "The transport bio-filters did prevent Seven from being infected, so we don't need to worry there."

"Speaking of Seven, is this pathogen related to that virus that affected her last year? The one that that Captain Ven and his people developed?" Janeway said.

"Not as far as I can tell," the Doctor said. "If this virus was created in a lab, it was done by someone far more advanced than that species was. I hope you aren't thinking of using this as a biological weapon."

Janeway understood where the Doctor was coming from. Even after Wolf 359 the idea of using biological weapons against the Borg had caused outrage at Starfleet Medical. She wasn't a big fan of the idea herself, but that wasn't exactly why she wasn't planning to go along with what she was certain Tuvok was about to suggest.

"If we could revive the pathogen, and reintroduce it," Tuvok said, "we could neutralize the drones without harming the away team."

"Captain, these are children we're talking about here," the Doctor said.

"Need I remind you that these 'children' have committed murder themselves in their futile attempt to assimilate others?" Tuvok said.

"Seven," Janeway said, "tell me something. You saw them, talked to them. Do you think they'll kill the hostages if we don't give them what they want?"

Seven seemed to ponder that question for a moment. "Yes," she said, but Janeway sensed a 'but' in there.

"You don't sound quite so sure."

"I believe that the drone calling itself First would be willing to do so. But the five have not formed a true collective. They have a hierarchy. It's possible that First's authority could be undermined, though in that event he may attempt to kill the hostages himself."

"One immature drone against two trained Starfleet officers and two ex-Maquis?" Janeway said. "My money would be on the hostages in that fight. Doctor, we'll keep the pathogen as an option, but I will not use it until I've met these child drones myself. Seven, come with me. You're going back to that cube, and I'm joining you."

Seven nodded, and she followed Janeway to the transporter room. Once aboard the cube, Seven quickly led Janeway to the maturation chambers.

"Why are you here?" The one called First said angirly.

"I wanted to make a new proposal," Janeway said.

"We have already negotiated," First said, walking around Janeway in a transparent attempt to appear intimidating. "You've seen the hostages. Now give us the deflector, as we agreed."

"Maybe it's hard for you to accept," Janeway said, "but you don't have to rejoin the hive. Our Doctor can remove your implants; you can come with us. You were individuals yourselves not long ago. Children, with families. You were abducted. Assimilated." Janeway looked at the one Seven had identified as Second. "I recognize your species. You're Brunali." She looked at the little girl. "And you're Norcadian. Do you remember your world?"

"A theta-class planetoid," the girl said. "Population: 260 Million. Binary suns."

"And what did it look like when those suns set each night?" Janeway said. So far she was pleased with how this was going. It was going better than expected in fact, as First had not interrupted her once so far. "Can you remember that?"

"Irrelevant!" First yelled.

 _Never mind_ , Janeway thought.

"The deflector. Now."

"We need more time," Janeway said, not actually caring if First bought it or not. She was sure that she and Seven could easily overpower the kid, even with all his Borg tech.

"That deflector array is essential to-"

"No," First said, his voice filled with panic. He lunged forward, shoving Janeway against a console, his arm pressing into her neck. Seven moved to try and free her, but walked face first into a force field. First had been smarter and quicker than Janeway had given him credit for, low though that bar may have been. "Give it to us."

"Or what? You'll assimilate me? That won't solve your problem. You'll gain my knowledge and you'll know exactly why parting with the deflector isn't such an easy proposition."

"Then what use are you to us?" First said.

"Maybe we can help repair your technology," Janeway said.

"Clarify," First said, pulling back his arm.

"Seven knows a good deal about Borg systems," Janeway said.

"You have two hours," First said.

"I don't know the extent of the damage. It could take longer," Seven said.

"Two hours!" First yelled, close enough to Janeway's face to make her flinch. "Or your hostages die." First backed away, allowing Janeway to rejoin Seven. "Don't come back here Captain," First added, his tone more like that a petulant child than a Borg, but that was not a surprise to Janeway at this point.

* * *

Janeway left the transporter room to head for the bridge, and nearly walked right into Samantha Wildman as a result. The Ensign did not seem too happy, and Janeway didn't have to ask why.

"Is she still on the cube?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Janeway said. "She's buying us more time."

"To do what, exactly?" Sam said.

"Best case, to get our people back safe and sound, and to give a home to five very scared children."

"Children?" Sam said.

"You didn't know?"

"I wasn't briefed on all the details, Captain. I only know what I've overheard. I know that most of the drones over there are dead from some virus, and the rest are desperate enough to resort to negotiation."

"Walk with me, Sam," Janeway said, heading for the turbolift. She tried to make it quick as possible as she only needed to go one deck up, and the lift wasn't far, but she managed to give Samantha the basic idea of what was going on on the cube. Any fear that Sam had for Seven's safety evaporated and was replaced with sadness for the Borg children.

"I hope we can help them, Captain," Sam said.

"I do too," Janeway said, stepping out onto the bridge. The door closed behind her, Samantha not following her which made the next thing she was about to say slightly easier.

"I bought us two hours. The pathogen?"

"It should be ready by then," Tuvok said.

"Did you see the away team?" Harry said.

"I'm afraid not," Janeway said.

"Man," Tom said, "Borg are bad enough but Borg teenagers? I bet even the Hirogen would want to steer clear of that."

"Seven assured me our people haven't been harmed," Janeway said. "Hopefully she can keep it that way. We're not dealing with standard drones here. Mature drones are predictable. They either ignore you or assimilate you. These drones we're dealing with now, they get pissed, make demands, but they also make mistakes. I'm hoping that can work to our advantage."

"They are contemptuous of authority. Convinced they are superior," Tuvok said.

"Like I said," Tom said. "Teenagers."

* * *

Seven of Nine worked on the console First had assigned her to, trying hard not to let the indignity of being ordered around by someone almost young enough to be her child get to her. Second interrupted her.

"I have brought the technology you requested," he said.

"Thank you," Seven said.

"You were a drone for 18 years," Second said.

"Correct," Seven said, wondering how Second knew that.

"I accessed your datafile," Second said.

"Why?" Seven said.

"I thought it might be relevant," Second said, though he sounded unsure.

Seven listened. Turning Second over to her side would probably be the best chance to deal with First and rescue the hostages safely. "What else did you learn?"

"You were assimilated as a juvenile, like us," Second said.

"My parents were scientists studying the Borg," Seven said. "They took me with them. My childhood was short."

"Childhood?"

"The years between birth and physical maturity. When humanoids adapt to their roles as individuals. Perhaps you have memory of yours."

"I don't know," Second said.

"What about your parents? Do you remember them?"

"No," Second voice, his voice distorting. "No memories."

"Your subvocal processor is malfunctioning," Seven said. "I can repair it for you. It is a slight adjustment."

Second flinched when Seven raised the tool that she was going to use to the side of his neck.

"It won't be painful," she said. "This is no different than when my step-daughter receives a hypo-spray."

"Step-daughter?" Second said.

"A child my spouse had with a former partner. I am helping to raise her. Now please hold still."

"The First told me my malfunction could not be repaired until we reconnected with the Collective," Second said, the latter few words coming through as clearly as they would through organic vocal chords.

"That is clearly inaccurate," Seven said, smirking.

Second said nothing for a few moments, then pointed as Seven's hair. "This color. My mother's hair was this color."

"I thought we agreed," First's voice said, echoing from the opposite end of the corridor, "no irrelevant discussions. What is the punishment for disobeying the protocols?"

"Deactivation," Second said. Seven was not going to stand for that.

"I engaged him in this discussion," she said.

"Return to your station," First said to Second.

Seven wondered if First had been this insufferable before he'd been assimilated. Second gave her a quick glance, then walked away, silently. First glared at her, and Seven, for the second time in as many hours, was tempted to punch a child.

* * *

Janeway, sitting behind her desk in her ready room, looked at the PADD that Seven gave her. She had been surprised that Seven was allowed to travel freely back and forth from the cube to the ship, but she wasn't going to complain. It certainly made keeping secrets from First a lot easier.

"I found some unsettling information," Seven said. "I examined their communication records. The Collective did receive the initial distress call sent out by the cube."

Janeway stood up, ready to order battle stations. "How long before they arrive?"

"A vessel was not dispatched," Seven said.

"Come again?"

"The Collective declared the neonatal drones irrelevant and severed their link to the hive permanently."

"That seems heartless even by Borg standards. I also have a hard time believing they'd just leave one of their cubes floating around in space for anyone to find. Do you think this is a result of that degradation theory you've been talking about?"

"Only partially," Seven said. "Severing links to drones is not unheard of. An entire cube's worth of drones was cut off in 2369. The aftermath of that severing was dealt with by the crew of the Enterprise-D around Stardate 46982.1."

"Lore and the rogue drones," Janeway said. "I read the reports on that. Starfleet theorized at the time that what had happened to those drones had happened to the entire Collective. If only, I suppose. Back to the matter at hand though. You're saying the Collective see these children as unworthy of reassimiliation?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Are the drones aware of this?"

"No," Seven said. "They don't have the ability to decrypt the message."

Janeway thought about it for a moment. "Once they learn they've been rejected by the hive, they won't need our deflector. They might be willing to release the hostages."

"Normally when drones learn they're irrelevant," Seven said, "they deactivate themselves. But these, children, are unpredictable. They may not adhere to Borg protocols."

"There is another option," Janeway said. "We could invite them to _Voyager_. If they realize they have no place else to go…"

"If you're suggesting transforming them into individuals," Seven said, "that may be inadvisable. You had difficulties with me in that regard, and I was a fully matured drone. I spent five years in a maturation chamber, having my turmoil, the fear I'd experienced watching my parents be assimilated, replaced with order. That order continues to be a source of strength for me, even now."

"I appreciate your insight, Seven, but I'm not suggesting this lightly. I'm aware of the risks involved, and it's not like I intend to give them free reign of the ship with full security clearances. Even Naomi can't go everywhere, and she was born here. It won't be an easy transition, I have no delusions about that, but that doesn't mean we can turn our backs on them."

"Not all drones can be saved, Captain," Seven said. Janeway believed she heard a hint of sadness in her voice. _It's not that she doesn't want to_ , she thought, _it's that she doesn't think we can. I hope she's wrong_.

"Continue repairs on the cube," Janeway said. "We'll withhold this information for now. How we tell them is just as if not more important than telling them at all."

"Understood," Seven said. She turned to leave but as she reached the door Janeway spoke to her one more time.

"They do have one thing going for them. You. If there's anyone who can reach them…" Janeway allowed the thought to trail off. Seven nodded, and left the ready room.

* * *

Seven of Nine walked up to First.

"The resonance field has collapsed," she said. "It'll take an hour to reinitialize." She expected First to react under the assumption that this was subterfuge. She was not wrong.

"These delays are intentional," First said. While Seven had been moving deliberately slowly, the resonance field had in fact collapsed but she doubted that even seeing so with his own eyes, both the organic and implanted ones, would assuage him.

"I'm working as efficiently as I can, but this cube was severely damaged and I am only one individual. Examine my work for yourself if you have doubts." She handed First her PADD. He looked at it.

"This data is flawed," he said, handing it back.

"More likely it's your understanding of quadric field theory that is flawed," Seven said, resisting the urge to punctuate the statement with an insult. She hoped that if Janeway was right and these children could be added to Voyager, that First would quickly calm down. She doubted she would have the patience to deal with him otherwise. She already had a family and duties as a crew member. Baby sitting a rage driven ex-drone was not something she wanted to add to her list of responsibilities.

"Ignore her," First yelled. Seven glanced to where First was looking at and saw the girl drone looking at them. "She's trying to divide us."

"They rely on you," Seven said. "Yet you lack the skills necessary to ensure their survival."

"We've managed so far," First said, though Seven quickly picked up on the lack of confidence backing that statement. "We're Borg. You've forgotten what that means."

"The unity of the collective. Common goals. The quest for perfection. I have not forgotten. I also have not forgotten the time and resources wasted on forcing those goals on others against their will through violence. Violence that led to more dead bodies than new drones for the collective. You don't realize, you don't need to remain drones to experience those things. And there are things that you simply can't experience as drones. You may not desire them as individuals, but at least then it would be a choice." Seven decided to leap straight to the next step, hopeful that she wasn't pressing her luck. If this worked, she would've succeeded well ahead of Captain Janeway's expectations. "Come with me to _Voyager_."

"38 minutes," First said. "You're wasting time."

Before Seven could say anything, an alarm went off. The drone children began looking around, visibly nervous.

"Another maturation chamber is malfunctioning," Second said.

First went over to the chamber where the infant Seven had seen when she first came aboard was still floating in the Borg equivalent to amniotic fluid. Seven hadn't considered it before but looking now she judged from the size of the child that it had likely been in utero when its mother had been assimilated.

First simply looked at it through the chamber's viewport, apparently unsure what to do, so Seven went to the console. "Its autonomic nervous system is failing." The child's mouth moved, its hands shook. It was clearly in pain.

"It's Borg. It will adapt," First said. The alarm continued. The girl drone looked at a readout screen.

"It's not adapting," she said. "Let Seven help."

After several seconds, First simply stepped away from the console he was using. Seven moved in quickly.

"We can modulate the stasis field to stabilize its functions," she said. "At least temporarily." She looked at Second. "Assist me."

The alarm continued, and the noises coming from her could've been described as angry were they coming from a sentient A.I.

"The field is degrading," Seven said, trying to remain calm. "We need to transport it into an incubation pod right away." She was looking at First, but he simply stood there, but without prompting the twins got to work, and within seconds the baby was beamed out of the fluid of the maturation chamber. Seven went over and opened the pod. The infant was wheezing, struggling for breath, and barely moving.

"Why is it doing that?" The girl said, her and the twins having moved closer to Seven and staring at the baby.

"Its respiratory system is impaired," Seven said, "and this incubation pod is malfunctioning. We must transport this infant to _Voyager_."

"No," First said. "The Drone is part of our collective."

"Not if it dies," Second said.

* * *

"Doctor to the Captain, please report to sickbay right away," the Doctor's voice said over Janeway's com badge as she made her way from the mess hall to the bridge, fresh mug of coffee in hand.

"On my way," she said. As soon as she stepped through the door she asked what the emergency was.

"I thought you should see for yourself," the Doctor said. "Somebody left a bundle on our doorstep." The Doctor motioned to the small incubator chamber, with a tiny infant inside. I turned around, and there she was, lying on a bio-bed."

"Seven must've beamed her here," Janeway said, looking down at the baby, Borg implants on its head, chest, and right arm.

"Good thing too," the Doctor said. "A few more minutes and I wouldn't have been able to do anything for her."

The infant began crying. The Doctor leaned in and picked her up very carefully. He handed her off to Janeway. "Hold her for a moment while I take some readings, please. That won't be a problem will it?"

"I have a niece Doctor, this is not new to me. It's just been awhile." Janeway started moving gently side to side while holding the infant, a move that her sister had taught her years before. The child slowly stopped crying.

"Oh," the Doctor said. "I guess she just wanted to be held."

"They do that sometimes," Janeway said.

The Doctor finished his scans, put down the tricorder, and picked up a yellow vial. "By the way," he said, "the pathogen. I finished synthesizing it."

"Start working with Tuvok to develop a way to deploy the virus," Janeway said, seeing right through what the Doctor was hoping to accomplish by mentioning it while she held the baby.

"Captain, you don't seriously plan on using it," the Doctor said.

"It's not plan A, Doctor," Janeway said. "But I'll use it if I have to. If it's her you're worried about though, she'll be safe here on _Voyager_. Learn all you can from her, Doctor. If the real Plan A works, you're going to have five new minors with Borg implants to deal with, and they'll need help."

* * *

Seven of Nine was growing impatient. She was afraid that if she spent too much more time with First she would have to apply some of the fighting techniques she'd learned during her Tsunkatse matches to shut him up. _If such typical adolescent behavior can test my patience this much now,_ she thought, _then I will need to began preparations for Naomi's teenage years as soon as possible. At the very least, I'd like to hope that even at her worst Naomi will still be more bearable than First_.

"You complain of delays, then you interrupt my work," she said as she marched into the room where First had summoned her rather rudely.

"I demand to know why the infant drone has not yet been returned," First said. "It is one of us."

"She is still in the Doctor's care," Seven said.

"You are attempting to deceive us," First said. "This is just another attempt to remove us all from the Collective." First motioned for the other children, who had been standing in a group, to move aside, and Seven failed to stop a gasp when she saw the unconscious but breathing body of Ensign Vorik slumped against the bulkhead behind them. His face showed sign of failed assimilation.

"Nanoprobes were injected into his bloodstream," First said. "He won't survive without medical attention. Medical attention he will be allowed to receive once Captain Janeway has given us _Voyager's_ deflector."

"That won't be necessary," Seven said, realizing she could no longer drag out her work. "I only need a few more minutes to repair-"

"No more delays. No more deceptions. The deflector. Resistance is futile."

Seven tapped her com badge. 'Seven of Nine to _Voyager_ ," she said.

"What is it, Seven?" Janeway said. Seven summarized the situation, making it clear just how much danger Vorik was in.

"Open visual communication," First said. Janeway's face appeared on a nearby monitor. First repeated the demands he'd had Seven give Janeway, then added a loud "Comply!" for punctuation.

"Return Ensign Vorik and we'll talk," Janeway said.

"We've talked enough," First said. "Your requests are irrelevant. Comply, or we'll assimilate the others."

Janeway looked off to her side, then back at the screen. "It will take at least an hour to dismantle the deflector and transport its components-"

"Now," First said.

"I can't give it to you now. It's complex technology that is part of our ship. We can't simply remove it, and no amount of threats can change that. How easily would you be able to give us your cube's shield generators if the situation were reversed?"

That seemed to give First pause, though Seven figured he was merely attempting to calculate how long that would take, and if the time were less than an hour, he'd likely throw that in Janeway's face in a sad attempt at what some of her shipmates called a "gotcha" moment.

First cut off communication, and began manipulating controls. Seven saw what he was doing as was horrified; the drone was attempting to use the cube's tractor beams to tear the deflector off of _Voyager_.

"Even with _Voyager's_ deflector," she said, "your efforts to return to the hive will fail."

"They'll come for us," First said.

"No, they won't. The Borg received your message but chose to ignore it. They consider you irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?" the girl said.

"We are damaged," Second said. "They don't want us."

"Ignore her," First said. "It's another lie."

"Their reply is in data grid 426," Seven said. "Use decryption protocol theta-3."

Second moved towards the console, presumably to do just that, but First demanded he return to his station. Second looked at First, then at Seven, and back at First. Instead of doing what he'd been told he went to the console anyway, openly defying First. He began manipulating the controls, then stepped back with a look of sadness on his face when he saw the data.

"It is another deception," First said. "She's manipulating us."

"The transmission is authentic," Second said. First grabbed his arm and moved him aside to look at the data himself, frantically manipulating the controls, probably searching for some sign, any sign, that the information had been tampered with.

"It's a mistake," First said.

"The collective does not tolerate what it sees as imperfection," Seven said.

"Then we'll assimilate more species," First said. "And prove we're worthy."

Seven found that statement so ridiculous she struggled to come up with a proper response. She did not need more proof that these drone were immature, yet it kept adding up regardless.

"You have no future with the Borg," she said, "but you do with _Voyager_."

The cube shuddered violently under her feet. Second shoved past First and looked at the console.

" _Voyager_ is sending a feedback pulse through our tractor beam," he said. "It's overloading our shield matrix."

"Adapt!" First yelled, heading for another console. The other drones did not respond to the demand, appearing unsure what to do now.

Another shudder.

"Shields are partially down," Second said. " _Voyager_ has already beamed three of the hostages away."

 _Chakotay, Chell, and Anderson_ , Seven thought. _Good. Now I just need to get myself, Vorik, and these kids out of here_.

"This section is still shielded," First said. "Continue adapting to the attack," he added, so wrapped up in his own work that he failed to noticed that only Second was doing anything, and what he was doing wasn't all the helpful, merely repeating aloud what the read-outs were telling him.

"Lower your shields," Seven said, looking at an increasingly panicky FIrst. "Lower your shields! If _Voyager_ cannot beam us off we will be destroyed along with the cube." First still said nothing, his mouth hanging open, his lip quivering, eyes darting back and forth.

"Fine," Seven muttered under her breath. She went to the console and started to lower the shields herself. She heard First yell "No!" But didn't see him charging at her until it was too late. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground hard enough to hurt her shoulder. She'd been hurt worse during Tsunkatse, but she still needed a moment to bring herself back to her feet.

"I have polarized the hull," First said. "Even if the shields fail they will not be able to get a lock on us."

"The _Delta Flyer_ ," Vorik said, coughing, and wincing through the pain. "Is still in the hangar bay of this vessel."

"We must get to it," Seven said. "If the shield matrix explodes it will take the cube with it."

"We must go," Second said.

"No," First said. "No!" He grabbed a large object off a nearby workbench and screamed as he prepared to bring the object crashing down on Seven's head, but Second stepped in and stopped the blow, pulling the object away from First and shoving him back.

"Leave her alone," Second said.

"Get back to your station," First said. "Do what I say."

"What you say?" Second said. "I thought we were a collective. One mind, one voice."

"I protected you," First said, his voice wavering as his authority collapsed, the other drones not just ignoring his commands but now glaring at him. "Gave you order.

"Your order. Your rules," Second said.

"Their feedback pulse is overloading the induction grids," Seven said, now standing again, looking at the nearest console. "This vessel will be destroyed. We must evacuate."

"No! Assist me!" First yelled, having moved to another console, right next to the maturation chambers. He turned to continue yelling at the drones when the console exploded behind him. He shuddered as visible electrical currents shot through his body, and he fell over. Seven ran over to check on him, all her anger at him having vanished and been replaced with concern. First lie face down, debris embedded in his back, the exposed skin there burned. She turned him over and his face showed typical signs of electrocution. He was dead, she was certain. Her scans with her tricorder only confirmed it.

"We need to go," she said, sadness in her voice. "Second, please help me with Vorik. We need to get to the vessel he and the other hostages were on. We can use to escape." Second complied without a word, aiding the Vulcan to his feet.

* * *

Janeway leaned back on her ready room sofa. Vorik had been saved, though his physical recovery from the damage done by the misused Borg nanoprobes would take days, and the Doctor was in process of removing as many of the Borg implants from the four surviving children as he could. The infant unfortunately was too small and weak in the Doctor's opinion; he feared she would not survive the removal process, at least not yet. The aftermath of the incident was not over yet, however.

"We've sent out calls for any Brunali or Norcadian ships in the area," Janeway said. "But no responses so far. Either there aren't any in range, or they just don't care. Have we identified what species the twins or the infant belong to?"

"Not yet," Seven said.

"It could take a long time to find a new home for them," Janeway said.

"They could use that time," Seven said. "They have a great deal to learn."

"It might help if they had someone around who-"

"I already know what you are going to suggest, Captain," Seven said. "I will do what I can, though I would obviously prefer to minimize the impact that would have on time with my family."

"Fair enough," Janeway said, deciding not to call Seven out on interrupting her Captain. This time, anyway. "Perhaps spending some time with Naomi would do the younger ones some good. If both you and Sam are okay with that of course."

"I would recomend that time together be under supervision, at least at first," Seven said. "I will speak to Samantha about it tonight at dinner."

"Sounds good," Janeway said.

"The children require time in the alcoves this evening," Seven said. "I can develop a lesson plan for them while they are, asleep."

"Okay," Janeway said. "Dismissed."

* * *

"Do we have to regenerate now?" the girl asked Seven of Nine. The four ambulatory children were in the cargo bay, dressed in Federation civilian clothing, their skin no longer pale and the majority of their visible Borg implants gone. Entirely gone in the case of the girl, for whom the only remaining sign of assimilation were some visible but small scars.

"Yes," Seven said, setting thoughts about coincidences aside. "But first, I was able to salvage your assimilation profiles. They include your names and some limited biographical data." She handed each child a PADD with their relevant data on them.

"Icheb," the one who had been known as Second said. "My name was Icheb."

"Your name _is_ Icheb," Seven said.

"I remember now," Icheb said. "It was my father's second name."

The girl spoke up next. "My designation is Mezoti. It- it's a pretty name."

"Yes," Seven said. "It is." She looked at the twins, who read their data with rapt attention. "Azan and Rebi. I will tell you more about them tomorrow morning." Each Borg child handed Seven back their PADDs without comment, then walked into their respective alcoves, their eyes closing as each alcove's regeneration cycle kicked in. "Computer, decrease ambient lighting by sixty percent." She looked at them all. "Good night." She headed towards the door to the cargo bay, herself not due for a full cycle for another day. As the door opened, she turned and looked at the children again. "Sweet dreams," she said. She headed out into the corridor, and wondered how Naomi would react to not being the only child on the ship anymore. She doubted the response would be negative, but that still left a number of possibilities.

 **Chapter Nine**

Everything was set up. The first ever _Voyager_ Science Fair was ready to begin. Naomi, and the four Borg children had their experiments ready to go, and Seven of Nine felt pride in all of them. The twins, whose species had finally been identified as Wysanti, worked together on theirs while Naomi, Mezoti, and Icheb each had their own. Samantha stood behind Naomi, while Seven went to the door to greet the Captain, Commander Chakotay, and Lieutenant Torres, who would get to be the first to see the experiments up close.

"If we're out here long enough," Seven overheard B'Elanna say to Chakotay, "we may need a bigger space for the next one of these."

"You know something I don't Lieutenant?" Chakotay said.

"I don't think so. Frankly it's kind of surprising that Naomi's the only child born aboard ship so far. But that won't be true forever, I'm sure of it."

"Let's focus on the here and now," Janeway said, chuckling at her officer's idle gossip. Seven herself had to admit that she also wondered why none of _Voyager_ 's other couples had chosen to procreate as yet. It was true that for at least one couple such a thing was genetically impossible without a series of treatments not available aboard ship, but for everyone else…

"So, why potatoes?" Janeway's question snapped Seven out of her thought process.

"Their original suggestion," Seven said of the twins, Rebi and Azan, "was to clone Naomi. I suggested they start with something smaller."

The officers made their way to the next table, where Mezoti had set up a large translucent tank, filled with dark blue dirt, and a colony of bioluminescent insects.

"Nicely done," B'Elanna said. "My father said he used to have tanks like this when he was a kid. I don't think any of his were quite this big either. Where'd you get the bugs?"

"It's a Terienian ant colony," Mezoti said. "I infused the soil with a blue ion dye so it'd be easier to see the insects."

"It's beautiful too," Janeway said. "The colors really compliment each other."

"That was an unintended side-effect," Mezoti said. "The drones produce a fluorescent enzyme that's activated by the queen."

"Drones and queens?" Janeway said, sounding somehow both concerned and amused at the same time. Seven noticed that Chakotay had covered his mouth, presumably to stifle a laugh. "I thought we were trying to get these children away from the Borg," Janeway said to Seven with a comically exaggerated frown. Seven decided that rolling her eyes would be an inappropriate reaction.

"The project was her idea," Seven said. "I didn't want to discourage her individuality."

"I like bugs," Mezoti said with a shrug.

"Well done," Janeway said. Next, the three officers moved over to Naomi's table, where she had set up a globe.

"What have we got here?" Chakotay said.

"It's Ktaris," Naomi said.

"Your father's planet?" B'Elanna said.

"I've been learning all about it," Naomi said with a grin.

"I think she knows more about the planet than I do," Samantha said, beaming with pride. "And I lived there for over a year."

B'Elanna gave Seven of Nine a side glance. "That doesn't bother you at all?"

This time Seven did roll her eyes. "If you mean am I bothered by the mere mention of someone Samantha was involved with before we even met, no."

"Show them the rest, honey," Sam said to Naomi. Naomi pressed a button, and a holographic display enveloped the globe, complete with geographic details and simulated weather events.

"Naomi programmed the geophysical and atmospheric conditions," Seven said.

"There's quite a storm in those mountains," Chakotay said, looking at one point on the globe.

"The Arpasian range is known for high winds and hail," Naomi said.

"Also some amazing restaurants," Samantha said, putting a hand on Seven's shoulder. "When we get back to the Alpha Quadrant, you and I should hit one of the fancier places while Naomi gets to know her Dad."

"Sounds good," Seven said.

"What's this?" Janeway said, having already moved on to Icheb's table. Seven stepped over to stand next to Icheb to explain the device.

"It's a high-resolution gravimetric sensor array," Icheb said.

"Ambitious," B'Elanna said.

"It'll augment our ability to scan for the neutrino flux associated with wormholes. It could help _Voyager_ find a faster way home."

"The engineering principles are sound," Seven said, smiling.

"I expected these projects to be interesting," Janeway said to Icheb, looking noticeably impressed, "but this is truly exceptional."

"Thank you, Captain," Icheb said. "I am very interested in astrophysics."

"Well you've obviously got a knack for it," Janeway said, patting Icheb on the arm. "Well done." Janeway moved around Icheb to move next to Seven, the two of them moving towards the food table that Neelix had set up while B'Elanna started asking Icheb questions.

"How did you think of scanning for neutrino fluctuations?" she asked.

Icheb began to explain how he drew inspiration from reading about the Bajoran wormhole in Alpha Quadrant, but Seven didn't hear the whole thing as Janeway started speaking to her.

"He's a remarkable young man," Janeway said.

"He hopes to earn a permanent posting in Astrometrics one day," Seven said.

Janeway sighed. "I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Captain," Seven said, "the boy has a unique talent."

"It's not a question of merit," Janeway said. "We've made contact with his parents, and I've set a course for their planet."

Seven felt as though her heart had somehow sunk into her stomach. She looked over at Icheb, who was still talking animatedly with B'Elanna and Chakotay.

"That… that is good news," Seven said as a lump formed in her throat. Janeway got that look on her face that she would sometimes get when she obviously didn't believe what a crew member was telling her, but before she could press the issue, Seven felt Sam's arm go around her waist.

"Annie?" Sam said. "You okay?"

"I'll leave you two alone," Janeway said. "Seven, when you're ready to talk, come by my ready room."

As soon as Janeway was out of earshot, Seven looked Samantha in the eyes and repeated to her what the Captain had said. Samantha nodded.

"Let's talk somewhere more private," Sam said, taking Seven's hand.

* * *

Seven hesitated to enter the cargo bay. Icheb would likely still be awake, despite being told to return to his alcove. He'd been missing needed regeneration time off and on all week while working on his project. Seven had indulged him for the most part, using only gentle verbal prodding as opposed to giving a direct order. He would likely be awake, but she hoped he wouldn't be, that she could put off telling him the news until tomorrow morning.

Samantha had been right though; returning Icheb to his parents was the right thing to do. Finding homes for all the Borg children was the right thing to do. Seven had to admit to herself that she was acting selfishly, although Samantha would not use the word. She wanted to take care of the children herself, and she had been prepared to make the case to the Captain to do so. This itself was not the key problem, however. The problem stemmed from the fact that she had failed to discuss this with Samantha. This failure of consideration on her part had led to their first real argument as a couple. It hadn't been bitter, or loud, or anything of that nature, and after much discussion the issue had been for the most part resolved, but Seven still felt a great deal of guilt. Samantha had insisted she forgave Seven, and she had no cause to doubt the veracity of the forgiveness, but the guilt persisted regardless. She decided that she would find some way to make it up to Sam later. For now though…

Seven entered cargo bay 2, and as expected, Icheb was working at a console when he should've been in his alcove, the way the other Borg children were. Seven found that she was going to miss the boy's stubbornness. She made an additional mental note to thank the Captain for providing her with the collected data they had on Icheb's species. It wouldn't make things easier, as she'd hoped, but as the human saying went, it's the thought that counted.

"Is your alcove malfunctioning?" Seven said in as lighthearted a tone as she could manage in order to convey that she knew it wasn't.

"I'm calculating neutrino trajectories," Icheb said.

"It is past time for you to regenerate," Seven said. "But first, I have some news for you."

"News?"

"We have located your parents," Seven said. " _Voyager_ is due to arrive at their planet, your planet, tomorrow."

Icheb looked concerned. "Do I have to stay with them?"

"They're your parents," Seven said.

"I don't remember them," Icheb said.

"That is inaccurate," Seven said. "When I found your name, when you first came aboard this ship, you told me that your name was your father's second name."

Icheb did not respond.

"When my parents were assimilated," Seven said, "I never saw them again. You're fortunate to have this chance."

"What about the others?"

"We have been unable to locate their families as yet," Seven said.

"That's not what I mean. What will happen to them if I leave? They depend on me."

"Not exclusively," Seven said. "They have a support structure here on _Voyager_. They will miss you, and the transition may be difficult, but they will adapt."

Icheb's dismay at the situation was visible on his face. Seven decided to give him some time to process his thoughts. "I'll never see you again?" he asked.

"I've been studying Brunali culture," Seven said, handing the PADD that Janeway had given her to him. "It is very different from what you've become accustomed to on _Voyager_."

"In what way?"

"They're an agrarian society. Their technological resources are limited."

"Are they capable of space travel?"

"Yes, but most of their vessels have been destroyed by the Borg."

"How will I continue my studies?" Icheb said, his voice getting louder and angrier.

Seven took a deep breath. She wished she had the answer that she was sure he wanted, but she didn't. "I don't know."

Icheb swallowed hard, casually tossed the PADD onto a workbench and silently went to his alcove. Seven tried to get his attention, but he simply leaned back, his eyes closing as the regeneration cycle kicked in.

* * *

Samantha Wildman was going to ask Seven how the conversation with Icheb about his parents went, but when she the look on her wife's face when she entered their quarters, she stopped herself.

"Oh, honey," Sam said, "I can tell that it didn't go very well. Are you okay?"

"Your concern for me is unwarranted," Seven said, "but not unwelcome. Thank you. I will be fine. It is Icheb I am worried about." Seven told her about what had happened in the cargo bay.

"I had failed to account for the possibility that he had become as attached to _Voyager_ as I had to him," Seven said. "I suspected he would be conflicted at worst, not angry."

Seven sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands. Sam sat next to her and gingerly rubbed her back.

"We both knew this wasn't going to be easy, Annie," Sam said. "Is there anything you think we can do to make the transition easier?"

"Nothing that wouldn't run up against the Prime Directive," Seven said. "Anything we could replicate for Icheb to allow him to continue his pursuit of astrophysics despite the limitations of his homeworld could be argued to have a major impact on their society. I doubt that the Captain would approve."

"Can't hurt to ask," Sam said.

Seven sighed. "That's certainly true."

The next few moments were filled with silence, Seven's eyes closing as she drifted to sleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful there that Samantha decided not to try and move her over to their bed. She finished her tea, set the chronometer to wake them both up in the morning before they arrived at Icheb's homeworld, and went to sleep.

* * *

"I'm detecting scattered enclaves on the northern continent," Harry Kim said from the ops station as _Voyager_ flew closer to the Brunali homeworld. Seven was doing scans of her own from auxiliary tactical station. She did not have a bridge shift scheduled for today, but Captain Janeway had been kind enough to allow her to be here for this. "All with populations fewer than ten thousand.

"Judging from the residual gamma radiation," Tuvok said, "it appears they've suffered numerous Borg attacks over the past decade."

"That's not surprising," Seven said, looking at her own readout. "There's a Borg transwarp conduit less than a light-year away."

"Not exactly prime real estate," Tom Paris said. "Gotta wonder why they didn't pick the planet clean the first time through. Leaving behind survivors doesn't seem like them."

"Agreed," Seven said. "More so since this behavior would pre-date when the degradation would've started."

"Tuvok," Captain Janeway said, "run continuous scans for Borg activity. Tom, put us into synchronous orbit."

"Aye, Captain," Tom said.

"Seven," Janeway said, "you better get Icheb."

Seven simply nodded. She was still unhappy about the situation, but she knew deep down that this was the right thing to do. It would be harder on Icheb than on her after all. The loss of access to technologies to help him in his desired field of study would likely be the largest hurdle to his adapting. When she arrived in sickbay, where Icheb was for a last-minute checkup at the Doctor's request, she had a feeling she was interrupting a conversation.

"It's time to go," she said. Icheb sighed. The Doctor put a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll do fine," he said. "Just remember what I said."

"That my parents are likely as anxious as I am? Or that they can teach me things the _Voyager_ crew cannot?" Icheb asked.

"Both," the Doctor said.

Icheb didn't say anything further. He silently followed Seven to the transporter room where Captain Janeway and Tuvok waited. The four of them beamed down to the planet, and Seven nearly winced at what she saw. On the horizon, she saw the ruins of what had been an apparently technologically advanced city. Below that in her field of vision, a vast, deep canyon, as if the ground, and whatever was on it, had been literally scooped up and away. It was a site she had seen before, from orbit, as a drone. These were the all too familiar signs of Borg activity. That the Brunali still existed as a species at all was astonishing.

A number of them were gathered near-by, some watching them as they beamed down. Janeway and Tuvok walked up to a couple, a male and a female.

"Hello," the Captain said. "I'm Captain Janeway, this-

"Icheb," the female said, smiling.

"You've...grown," the male said, looking genuinely surprised at how tall his son was.

"He spent several months in a Borg maturation chamber," Seven said to Icheb's parents, who now looked at her with concern.

"This is Seven of Nine," Janeway said.

"That's a Borg designation, isn't it?" Icheb's mother said nervously. Janeway looked tense, but Seven spoke up first.

"Like your son, I was liberated from the collective," she said.

"Seven has been instrumental in helping Icheb make his transition," Janeway said.

"Then we're very grateful to you," Icheb's father said. "I'm Leucon, this if Yifay."

"A pleasure to meet you," Seven said, even though she was wishing she was anywhere but here right now. She could see the other Brunali trying to look as though they weren't staring at her.

"How are you?" Yifay asked Icheb.

"Fine," Icheb said in a somewhat rude tone of voice.

Yifay stepped forward. "Do these hurt you?" she said, motioning towards the visible Borg implant on Icheb's face.

"No," Icheb said, flinching as though he were afraid that his mother was going to touch him.

Seven glanced at the Captain. The look on Janeway's face suggested that she was thinking the same thing that Seven herself was; _This is not going very well_.

Yifay stepped back. Leucon smiled. "We're very happy to have you back with us," he said. Seven had a feeling that there was something insincere about the way he said that, but she dismissed it as an intrusive thought. She would not let herself do anything to make this more difficult on her or Icheb than it already was.

"Not just your mother and I," Leucon motioned towards some other Brunali standing nearby, watching them all from behind a fruit cart. "The whole village is happy to have you home."

Icheb looked at Seven of Nine and Tuvok. "I would like to return to _Voyager_ now," he said as casually as if he were telling them that he'd finished his lunch. His parents looked at each other, both seeming genuinely uncertain. She felt sympathy for them. She looked at Janeway, who seemed similarly unsure how to respond.

"Let's all go to _Voyager_ ," she said finally, stepping forward to look directly at Icheb's parents. "I can see that there's still work that needs to be done to make this transition less traumatic."

* * *

Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine sat quietly in the briefing room, waiting for Icheb's parents to join them. Under Janeway's suggestion, Tuvok was giving them a brief tour of the ship. It was more for her benefit than theirs, as she was uncertain how to handle this. Seven of Nine had been more sympathetic than she'd feared, but still proved of little help. A part of her was afraid that Seven might try to take advantage of this situation and try to keep Icheb aboard _Voyager_ to raise as her own son.

"It was made clear to me in no uncertain terms," Seven said when Janeway admitted this to her, "that doing so without consulting Samantha would be irresponsible, and potentially damaging to our relationship. Put simply Captain, she metaphorically knocked some sense into me."

"Glad to hear," Janeway said. "That she did it, and that you're speaking metaphorically."

The door to the briefing room opened, and a security officer motioned for the two Brunali adults to enter. "Thank you for coming," Janeway said.

"Where's Icheb?" Leucon said.

"I thought it might be better if we talked ourselves first," Janeway said.

"What exactly is there to discuss?" Leucon said. Both he and Yifay looked confused and concerned, and Janeway could not fault them for that.

"How to make this transition easier for your son," she said, offering a sympathetic smile. "Please, sit down."

Icheb's parents did so. His mother spoke first. "It won't be easy for him to give up the luxuries of your ship," she said.

"I do not doubt that plays some role in his apprehension," Seven said. "Did the Captain inform you that we have other children rescued from the Borg on board?"

"She did not," Leucon said. "Are they Brunali too?"

"No," Seven said. Janeway didn't interrupt. She thought she knew where Seven was going with this, and approved. "What they are however is significantly younger than him. They look up to him, and Icheb sees himself as responsible for their well-being. Among the first things he asked me after I informed him that we would be returning him to you was what would happen to them when he left."

Both Leucon and Yifay smiled at that.

"So basically," Leucon said, looking at Seven, "he feels like he's abandoning his siblings? I can see how that would complicate matters." He looked at Janeway. "You should've told us this, Captain."

"You're right," Janeway said. "I should've considered that, but failed to do so." Seven had not actually told her about everything Icheb had said when Seven had given him the news, but decided that his parents didn't need to know that detail.

"We could take the other children as well," Leucon said. "Find homes for them on our world."

"We can't allow that," Janeway said. "It's not a bad idea and I intend no offense by rejecting the proposal, but we're still searching for their parents as well, and haven't exhausted all our avenues just yet."

"That's fair," Yifay said.

"Your planet's proximity to a Borg conduit is of some concern," Seven said. "Have you considered relocating?"

"Seven?" Janeway said firmly, worried that Seven was going down a path that would be counterproductive.

"It's all right, Captain," Leucon said. "It's a reasonable question. This planet is our home. We will never leave it. We will defend it against the Borg or anyone else who threatens us."

 _That almost sounded like he was threatening us_ , Janeway thought. If Seven picked up on that tone as well she gave no sign.

"I'm inclined to believe you," Seven said. "To be honest, I am surprised that your people have survived this long, given the aforementioned conduit. I have this theory that I have been developing regarding the Collective. Perhaps if we compare-"

"We're getting off topic here," Janeway said. "This is about Icheb, remember?"

"My apologies, Captain," Seven said.

"Could we see our son now?" Yifay said

"Please be patient," Janeway said. "If we rush the next encounter, it may not go any better than the last. Stay aboard _Voyager_ for awhile. It'll give Icheb a chance to get to know you in an environment that's familiar to him. I'll have Neelix, that's the name of our chief morale officer, do everything he can to make you comfortable while you're here."

Yifay nodded, and looked at Leucon, who nodded as well.

"Seven, why don't you, Sam, and Naomi join Icheb's parents for a meal in the mess hall?" Janeway said.

"I'm sure they would be happy too," Seven said,.

"I'm sorry," Leucon said, "but who are Sam and Naomi?"

"My wife and her daughter," Seven said matter-of-factly. Janeway winced. While it had been a long time since she or anyone she knew had encountered a culture that was hostile to the kind of relationship Seven and Samantha had, she wished she'd gone to the effort to find out how the Brunali would react.

"Your… wife?" Yifay said. "I don't understand."

Leucon touched Yifay's hand. "It's probably a human thing," he said. "It is not our place to judge."

"Human sexuality probably shouldn't be on the list of things we discuss at the table," Janeway said. "Suffice it to say, I think it would help Icheb a great deal of good to see his biological and extended families getting along."

Yifay and Leucon looked at each other, communicating in that non-verbal way that couples often did, even without the aid of telepathy, and nodded.

* * *

In Cargo Bay 2, Icheb worked at a console, trying to perfect his new sensor designs. His mind was unable to focus on the task at hand, but it was not due to any of the potential distractions in the cargo bay itself, such as Mezoti riding around on a device called a bicycle, and while Naomi Wildman played kadis-kot with the twins.

 _Where did she even get the bicycle?_ Icheb thought. _Did she replicate it, or did someone happen to have one aboard and is allowing her to use it?_

"Is your mother pretty?" Mizoti asked. It wasn't her first question of the day, and just all the others Icheb chose not to respond. This failed to deter her however. "What are they like?"

Icheb finally caved and spoke up, though not to answer Mizoti's questions. "I'm busy."

"If you leave," Mizoti said, "who will help us with our science projects?"

"My Mom can help," Naomi said. "She's a xenobiologist, but she knows a little about other stuff too."

Icheb glanced over his shoulder when he heard the door to the cargo bay open, and frowned when Seven of Nine walked in.

"Icheb, Naomi, I need you to come with me," she said.

"Where?" Icheb said.

"To dinner with your parents," Seven said to icheb.

"Why am I going too?" Naomi asked.

"Your mother will be joining us," Seven said. "The Captain hopes it will aid in the transition."

"Okay," Naomi said. "Are his parents nice?"

"They seem to be," Seven said.

"I'm working," Icheb said.

"You can continue your project after the meal," Seven said.

"I don't have anything to talk about with them," Icheb said.

"Not at the moment perhaps," Seven said, "but there will be eight sentient beings in attendance. Conversation is all but inevitable."

"Eight?" Icheb said.

"The Captain will be there, as will Mister Neelix. He is helping your mother prepare Brunali dishes for you."

"I'm not going," Icheb said. Seven looked saddened. He just couldn't understand why everyone on this ship was either trying to push him off, or was acting like he was already gone. The Doctor had insisted to him that his parents could nurture him in ways that the crew of _Voyager_ could not, but on this ship his education and medical needs were taken care of.

"Please don't make this more difficult than it already is, Icheb," Seven said. It was as far as he could remember over the past several weeks the first time he had heard sadness in her voice since First had gotten himself killed. He wondered if maybe he'd read the situation wrong, and that Seven didn't want him to leave any more than he wanted to leave. This complicated things.

"C'mon Icheb," Naomi said, taking his hand. "Let's go."

* * *

When Seven entered the mess hall, she saw Yifay and Neelix coming out from the kitchen, each carrying a tray of food to a table where Leucon, Captain Janeway, and Samantha were already seated. Icheb, still looking uncomfortable, found a seat, keeping as far away from his parents as he could without sitting at another table entirely, and Naomi sat next to him and immediately introduced herself to Icheb's parents.

"Mister Neelix let me use his galley," Yifay said, speaking to Icheb as Seven sat next to Samantha, "to prepare some poma. It was your favorite food when you were little."

"I'm not hungry," Icheb said. Seven felt Samantha gently squeeze her thigh under the table.

"You okay?" she whispered in Seven's ear. Seven nodded, and kept watching Icheb interact with his mother.

"I am not little anymore," Icheb said, looking at the plate of food, but not the way he would if he were hungry.

 _He doesn't want to make eye contact_ , Seven thought. I can understand that, I suppose.

"No," Yifay said, looking sad. "No you're not."

"Your mother worked hard on that meal," Leucon said, though not in an angry or accusatory tone. "Couldn't you at least try it?" he added with a small smile.  
Icheb looked at Seven and Sam.

"You do not require our permission," Seven said.

"Go ahead," Sam said.

"It's good," Naomi said, some of the food already in her mouth.

"Sweetie," Sam said, sighing, "what have I told you about talking with your mouth full?"

Seven chuckled despite herself. She felt bad at laughing at her step-daughter's expense, but the release of tension that came with it was more than welcome.

"I suppose," Icheb said, barely suppressing a smile of his own. He took a bite, and almost as if against his will, his mouth upturned in a smile.

"I think he likes it," Sam whispered to Seven.

"Indeed," Seven added, feeling somewhat relieved herself. Perhaps this transition would go smoothly after all. Then the only thing she would have to worry about would be missing Icheb, but with her family and shipmates here for her she suspected that would not take too long. It was then that she noticed that Samantha seemed to be looking at Icheb's parents suspiciously, as she suspected they were hiding something. She hid it well when Leucon and Yifay were looking in her direction, but when their attention was on Icheb, and now Naomi as the latter regaled them with stories about Icheb trying to teach her astrophysics

"Sammy?" Seven said quietly. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Later babe, later," Sam said back.

The meal continued into ship's night. Eventually, Icheb and his parents got up to leave. Icheb would not be leaving right away, but he had agreed to accept a tour of the Brunali encampment where he would be living when he did. Naomi asked if she could go too. Sam seemed oddly reluctant, but when Icheb said he'd keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't wander off, Sam agreed. Seven had a feeling this was not what her concern was.

Once Naomi, Icheb, and his parents were gone, Sam did not wait for Seven to ask.

"Something is off about those two, I know it," she said.

"Et tu, Samantha?" Janeway said, glowering at Seven. Seven shook her head.

"I had nothing to do with this, Captain," she said. "In fact I found them to be quite personable."

"I can't put my finger on it, Captain," Sam said, "but my Mom Radar is pinging like crazy right now."

"Are you sure this isn't my fault somehow?" Seven said. "Perhaps your perception is being colored by my own reluctance to-"

"Annie," Sam said, gingerly pressing her finger to Seven's lips, "you know me. I'm not prone to acting on impulse."

Seven sighed, and looked at Janeway. "She has a point Captain. And unlike us she is a biological parent. Perhaps-"

"Fine," Janeway said, rubbing her temples. "I'll have Tuvok take another look at Icheb's parents if it will make you feel better."

"It would, Captain," Sam said. "Thank you."

"You know," Janeway said, "I expected that Seven would be a problem tonight."

"Hey," Seven said.

"But not you, Sam."

"Captain," Samantha said, "how often have you managed to save this crew by acting on instinct rather than logic?"

Janeway glowered at Samantha for several long uncomfortable seconds. "Touche, Ensign Wildman, touche." With that, Janeway left the mess hall. Neelix simply shrugged, and returned to his kitchen.

"I think I'll try to catch up with Icheb and Naomi," Seven said. "Maybe I'll see something down on the planet. Would you like to… why are you looking at me like that?"

"Honey, remember what's happened to me the last several times I was planetside? Forget it. If I didn't think Icheb would protect Naomi like she was his sister, I wouldn't have let her go in the first place. If you're there too, I know she'll be safe. I will stay up here. On the ship. That isn't a planet."

Seven nodded. She had been putting off discussing Samantha's fairly recent fear of planets since the _Delta Flyer_ crash last year for fear that it would make her too uncomfortable, but she had a feeling that she could not do so for much longer. That would be a matter for another time though. Instead, she hugged Sam, and headed for the door, hoping she wouldn't be too late to catch up to Icheb and his parents before they beamed down.

* * *

In the Brunali settlement, Leucon walked with Icheb, showing him around, answering his questions. Seven looked around, watching other Brunali hard at work on various projects, Naomi at her side as they followed close behind Icheb and his father.

"The Borg didn't leave us much to work with," Leucon said. "But we didn't need much, just a little ingenuity. Everything you see, we built with our own hands. Our homes, cultivation bays…"

"What's this?" Icheb said. Seven looked at the device he was pointing to. It's apparent level of advancement stood out next to the relatively primitive greenhouse it was next to, but Seven had learned long ago that not all races developed technologies at the same pace and in the same directions as others did. Humans referred to such things as anachronisms, but she didn't see it that way.

"That is a genetic resequencer," Leucon said. "We use it to alter the DNA of certain plants to conform with environmental conditions."

"You built this as well?" Icheb said, sounding as impressed as Seven felt. She found herself admiring the Brunali people. Despite everything the Borg had put them through, they had found ways to survive and even thrive. Had they been a species in the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation would likely jump at the chance to admit them.

"We adapted parts from damaged vessels," Leucon said. "Nothing's been wasted."

"Efficient," Icheb said. Seven agreed with that as well. As much as she loved Samantha, a part of her desperately wanted Sam to be wrong. The knowledge Icheb retained from both the Borg and Starfleet would be valuable to these people. As much as she would miss him, she didn't want to have to take him away from his homeworld.

"Efficiency is one attribute we share with the Borg," Leucon said. "In our case, it's a necessity." Leucon and Icheb stepped out of the greenhouse, the former holding the door open for Seven and Naomi, who had to stop from bothering the locals with questions about the plants.

"I know our settlement seems primitive compared to _Voyager_ ," Leucon said. "But I promise you, that will change."

"What about space travel?" Icheb said.

"Someday," leucon said, "we'll have ships that rival _Voyager_. But we need the dedication of young people like you to help us."

Seven wondered if something like that had been what made Samantha so troubled. She had to admit that since coming down to the planet Leucon had at times sounded more like the cliche of a human politician running for office than a father, but Seven's knowledge of the Brunali was limited. For all she knew, this was just how their fathers spoke to their children.

While she was thinking, Icheb began talking with some boys who seemed about his age. They were talking about a local sport that apparently Icheb had been talented at before his assimilation. Seven was about to inquire about it when she felt Naomi tugging gently on her arm.

"Seven?"

"Yes?"

"Icheb won't have to leave today will he? Will we all get a chance to say goodbye?" Naomi had that look on her face that she often did when she was trying, and failing, not to show how upset she was.

"I'm sure we will," Seven said.

"Excuse me," Leucon said, Seven not realizing immediately he was addressing her. "I apologize for the interruption, but Icheb said he would like to spend the night down here, but we don't have a regeneration unit installed for him yet. I was hoping you could help us." Seven looked at Icheb, who simply nodded.

"Of course," Seven said, thinking that perhaps this could be the opportunity she needed to learn what, if anything, had caused Samantha's concerns. "We can return to _Voyager_ right now. I will show you how to operate the device. Icheb, what was the name of that sport your peers over there said you played?"

"They called it pala. I do not remember how to play though," Icheb said.

"Perhaps a session with the other Brunali children would refresh your memory," Seven said.

"You want me to go play?" Icheb said, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Seven said.

"Can I play too?" Naomi said.

"It's perfectly safe," Leucon said.

"I don't doubt that," Seven said. "However, if I left her here on the planet without adult supervision that would cause unnecessary tension with her mother."  
Leucon chuckled and nodded. "I understand that all too well."

Naomi looked disappointed, but didn't say anything as Seven called for the three of them to be beamed up. Once aboard, Seven took Leucon to cargo bay 2, asking Naomi to go and keep the other Borg children occupied so they would not be a distraction while the regeneration unit was prepared. This was only half true, however. Seven's true intent was to ask Leucon some questions and for that she needed to be sure there was minimal chance for interruptions.

"I've adapted this neural transceiver to interface with the portable regenerator," Seven said, talking about a piece of technology on a nearby workbench. Work on such a device had begun earlier, when it became likely that Icheb would be leaving, so now was as good as time as any to complete it. "It currently only has enough power to complete one full cycle."

"I think we can come up with a way of recharging it," Leucon said, looking the device over.

"How was he taken?" Seven asked.

"Sorry?"

"I am curious as to how Icheb ended up assimilated. I apologize if I was too direct."

Leucon sighed, he looked bothered by the question, but he answered anyway. "Since the Borg first attacked us, we've taken great pains to hide whatever new technology we develop."

"So that passing cubes won't be attracted to your planet," Seven said. "A wise strategy."

"Unfortunately we haven't always been successful. One morning, about four years ago, Icheb heard me talking about a new fertilization array we constructed in the lower field. He wanted to see it."

 _I can believe that_ , Seven thought.

"I told him I'd take him the next day," Leucon continued. "But he was impatient, the way boys can be. I never even realized he'd wandered off when the alarm sounded. It turns out the Borg were just as interested in our new technology as Icheb was. They took him. Assimilated everyone in the area."

"I see," Seven said, saddened at the thought of so much life lost.

"If only I'd kept a closer eye on him," Leucon said. Seven knew that feeling all too well; the desire to blame one's self for actions beyond their control.

"Icheb has a mind of his own," Seven said. "When he has made up his mind, it is difficult to dissuade him. That remained true even after he was assimilated."

"Still, it's hard not to blame myself. Your parents must've felt the same way when they lost you."

"My parents were with me when I was assimilated," Seven said.

"I can't imagine what that must've been like for them. Watching their daughter be assimilated, helpless to defend her?"

Seven nodded. She hadn't intended initially to be this open with Icheb's father, but despite Sam's concerns, she did feel like she could trust him. She tried to see what it was that Sam had seen that made her concerned, but she just couldn't.

"It is important that Icheb regenerate for six uninterrupted hours," she said, helping Leucon load the portable regeneration device into a carrying case.

"Understood."

"He may resist. He doesn't like to waste time, and he sees sleeping as a waste of time."

"I wasn't so different when I was his age."

* * *

The next morning, Seven learned that _Voyager_ would be leaving, and that Icheb had decided not to contest his being left behind with his parents. She had suspected as much, but it still stung somewhat.

She now stood in the transporter room, where Icheb would be arriving soon with his belongings to beam down after saying his goodbyes to the other Borg children and to Naomi. Captain Janeway stood next to her.

"You okay, Seven?"

"I am sad," Seven admitted, "but less so than I expected."

"And Sam?"

"Uncertain," Seven said. "She seemed to take me at my word when I made it clear I found no cause to doubt Icheb's parents, but I think she may still have doubts."

"I think I can blame myself for that, at least in part," Janeway said. "I do talk a lot about the value of instinct, and trusting one's metaphorical gut. I guess she really took that to heart."

"If I knew what it was about them that triggered her feelings," Seven said, "perhaps I could've done more to put her at ease."

The door to the transporter room opened, and Icheb stepped in, a duffel bag over his shoulder. Seven picked up a smaller container that was between her and the Captain and handed it over to him.

"This contains a number of PADDs with astrophysical data as well as a high-resolution telescope," she said. "It's a somewhat poor substitute for our astrometric sensors, but, it should be adequate to helping you continue your studies."

"I will use it every day," Icheb said. "Thank you."

Seven nodded.

"Goodbye, Icheb," Janeway said. "And good luck."

"Thank you, Captain. And to you as well. I hope you find a way home."

Janeway turned and nodded at the transporter operator.

"Goodbye," Seven said quietly as Icheb transported away.

Janeway put a hand on Seven's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Tell you what. Why don't you, Sam, and Naomi stop by quarters tonight for dinner?"

"I'll consult with them at the first opportunity," Seven said. She prepared to leave, to return to the astrometrics lab, but a thought occurred. "You never told me what, if anything, Mister Tuvok learned. How did that go?"

"It didn't," Janeway said. "He was unable to come up with an angle to approach it from. Still, I wouldn't worry. If there were anything about them that could be of concern, it would take the entire encampment covering up for them to hide it from us. Children included."

"I see," Seven said. "Though I would remind you that Naomi proved capable of keeping a secret for months until letting it slip by accident at the age of 3."

"She did? Oh, wait, now I remember. She told me about you and Sam having 'grown up time.' Luckily, you two were planning to go public with your relationship that day anyway. Quite fortuitous that."

"There are days," Seven said, "where one could make the case that this ship runs as much on fortuitousness as it does dilithium crystals."

* * *

Seven of Nine found herself awoken from her regeneration cycle early by a tired and upset looking Mezoti.

"I can't regenerate," Mezoti said. Seven sighed. If nothing else, her time spent co-parenting Naomi had prepared her for incidents like this.

"You miss Icheb," Seven said, not bothering to phrase it as a question.

Mezoti nodded.

"So do I," Seven said, "but we'll adapt. Return to your alcove."

"If you find my parents, will I have to go with them?"

"We can discuss that if the time comes," Seven said.

"I hope you don't find them," Mezoti said. This made Seven sad, but she also understood where it was coming from. As she'd said though, that was a topic for another time, so she repeated her request for Mezoti to return to her alcove.

"Seven?"

"Yes?"

"What if the Borg try to assimilate Icheb again?"

"His people lack resources," Seven said, hoping to put Mezoti's concerns at ease. "The Borg have little reason to return to their planet."

"What if Icheb's on a ship?"

"Unlikely," Seven said.

"He was on a ship last time," Mezoti said before turning around to step into her alcove.

Seven of Nine felt her heart skip a beat. "You… you are mistaken. He was on the surface when he was assimilated," she said, though already her inner monologue was telling her that Samantha had been right all along.

"No. He wasn't," Mezoti said, matter of factly, not showing any sign of offense at being contradicted. "A class-one transport was detected in grid 649; one lifeform; species: Brunali," she said in a Borg-like monotone before stepping into her alcove and starting her regeneration cycle. Seven was grateful for that, because it meant that Mezoti would not hear her swear as she made her way towards the exit.

* * *

"Seven," a very tired Janeway said as she entered astrometrics, a cup of fresh coffee in her hand, her eyelids heavy, and her hair still a mess, "if whatever it is you called me down here for isn't the most important thing you've ever found, I doubt anyone but your wife would hold it against me if I threw you in the brig for twenty years."

"It is very important," Seven said, still looking at the screen, filled with Borg data.

"I don't read Borg, you'll have to translate this for me."

"This is tactical data from the cube where we found the children," Seven said. "It says that Icheb was found alone on an unarmed transport vessel when the Borg took him."

"And?" Janeway said, glaring at her, the time 0300 hours repeating in her mind over and over again; a time when she should've been asleep.

"Icheb's father told me he had been assimilated on the planet's surface."

"Is it possible you misunderstood?" Janeway said.

"No. Leucon was very specific about the details."

"That cube was disabled by a deadly pathogen," Janeway said. "It suffered extensive damage. Isn't it possible these records were corrupted?"

"Perhaps," Seven said, "but I found another inconsistency in Leucon's story."

"Oh joy," Janeway said, planning the talk she was going to have with Samantha about giving her wife ideas considering her recent history with making bold connections based on circumstantial evidence.

"He told me Icheb was assimilated four years ago," Seven continued, unabated by Janeway's sarcasm. "But further analysis indicates the Borg attacked three times in the past ten years. Nine years ago, six years ago, and again last year."

Janeway looked at the data on the screen, and listened to Seven's tone of voice; calm, collected, certain.

 _Goddammit_ , she thought. _She has a point._ "All right," she said aloud after taking a sip of her coffee, "Let's assume your information is accurate. What does it prove?"

"That Icheb's father was lying," Seven said with an eyebrow raised.

"And why would he do that?"

"I'm not certain, but we have an obligation to find out."

Janeway wanted to say that they didn't, that Icheb's parents had been through enough and that they shouldn't be interrogating them. If it were just Seven of Nine, she probably would, but Samantha Wildman was not prone to flights of fancy, and had never gone off on wild conspiracy theories after having an entire starship's database worth of information dumped into her head, and she had been the first to suspect that Icheb's parents were not what they'd appeared. And Seven's evidence, while circumstantial, was not illogical.

"We'll go back to the Brunali homeworld," Janeway said. "I'm sure we can cook up some excuse. Say that Icheb forgot something, whatever, I'll figure it out."

* * *

Icheb was not sure what the argument was about, but the sound of his parents verbally fighting awoke him from his regeneration cycle. As he stretched his limbs, he heard his father yell.

"Couldn't we at least wait a few days?"

"What would that accomplish?" his mother said.

"He's just getting settled," Leucon said. Icheb immediately realized they were talking about him, but he wasn't sure why.

"The longer we wait the harder it'll be for everyone," Yifay said, "you know that."

"Why do it at all? There's nothing compelling us to go through with it."

"It's what he was born for."

"Hasn't he been through enough?"

Icheb felt compelled to walk into the room where his parents right this moment and ask what they meant by all this, but something in him suggested he wait and try to learn more.

"Why not give him a chance at an ordinary life?" Leucon said.

"He's not an ordinary child," Yifay said.

"No, but he can help us in other ways," Leucon said. Icheb could hear a hint of desperation in his father's voice. "He's bright, he's hardworking, he-"

"Leucon! His return was a gift. We can't waste it."

"I don't want to lose him a second time."

"To survive we all have to make sacrifices. You taught me that," Yifay said. Icheb felt nervous. The Doctor had referred to this feeling as 'butterflies in the stomach.' Had they been literal, his stomach would be full to bursting with the insects. He had to confront them, had to know what was going on, had to know why his mother was talking about him this way.

He walked into the room, and his parents feel silent.

"What do you mean by sacrifices, mother?" Icheb said.

"Icheb, you were supposed to be asleep, regenerating," Yifay said, while Leucon simply went and sat in the corner, seeming to have trouble looking at them. "You know that you're very important to us."

"Yes," Icheb said. "Though I am beginning to suspect it's not for the reasons I was led to believe. What was it I was born for?"

A tear fell down Yifay's face. "Leucon?" she said, as she got up and opened a door on a nearby cabinet. "You better hold him." She took out a device that resembled a hypospray. He tried to stand up but before he could his father was holding him into place.

"I don't understand," he yelled, trying to break free of Leucon's grip as Yifay pressed the device against his neck. There was a brief stinging sensation, followed by blurred vision, and he felt very, very tired. The last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness was his mother speaking.

"Prepare for launch."

* * *

As soon as _Voyager_ arrived over the Brunali homeworld, Captain Janeway told Harry Kim to hail Icheb's parents.

"We didn't expect to see you again, Captain," Leucon said, sounding polite, but his body language conveying annoyance.

Already Janeway's instincts were kicking in. Her cover story went right out the metaphorical airlock and to what she figured would be Seven of Nine's surprise went straight to the point.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions," she said, "if you don't mind."

"Questions?" Yifay said, stepping into view, and sounded guarded, like she already expected an interrogation.

"Regarding Icheb and the circumstances surrounding his assimilation," Janeway said.

"We've already discussed that," Leucon said, sounding angry.

"The story you told my astrometrics officer is inconsistent with our data," Janeway said.

"We don't owe you any explanations," Yifay said. Any doubts Janeway had went away. They could easily have tried to argue that Seven was mistaken, or was acting on emotion, and they would've had a case even if they were wrong. But they weren't even trying.

"In that case," Janeway said, standing up from the Captain's chair, "I'd like to talk to Icheb."

"He's not here," Leucon said.

"Oh?" Then where is he?"Janeway said.

"That's not your concern," Yifay said. Janeway did not like this one bit.

"Scan for his bio-signs," she said to Tuvok.

"He is not in the settlement," Tuvok said after a few moments.

"Captain," Harry said, "I'm detecting a small vessel. Distance, nine million kilometers. It's heading for the coordinates of the transwarp conduit."

Janeway heard Seven let out a small gasp at that, and she couldn't blame her. She glared at the two Brunali on the viewscreen.

"He's on that ship, isn't he?" Janeway said.

"According to these readings," Chakotay said, "that ship is travelling at warp 9.8. That can't be right."

"It only looks that way," Tom said. "It's been designed to emit a false warp signature; strong enough to penetrate subspace."

"They're using it as bait to attract the Borg," Seven said, somehow keeping her composure despite the horrific implications.

"He's fighting for his people," Yifay said with pride in her voice.

"Alone on an unarmed transport?" Janeway said. "How the hell does that work?"

"We don't have particle weapons or powerful starships at our disposal," Leucon said. "We're forced to use the only resource we have."

"Your children?" Seven said.

"No. Our genetic expertise," Yifay said.

"Icheb's not bait," Janeway said. "He's a weapon. The first cube that captured him was infected by a pathogen. Icheb was the carrier wasn't he?"

"Every time we try to rebuild," Leucon said, "begin to make progress, the Borg come and take it away from us."

"Tom," Janeway said, "set a course for that transport vessel, full impulse."

"Yes ma'am," Tom said.

"You have no right to interfere," Leucon yelled, pointing at the screen.

"We're trying to save our civilization," Yifay said.

"I'm not unsympathetic," Janeway said, "but he's a child. Couldn't you have used someone else as a carrier? Did you even ask Icheb if he wanted this?" Neither of Icheb's parents responded, which was all the answer Janeway needed.

"Captain," Leucon said at the end of the long silence. "A Borg ship will emerge from that conduit at any moment. Don't endanger your crew. You'll be destroyed."

"Your concern is noted," Janeway said, "but rings hollow coming from someone who uses unwilling children as biological weapons. As for your grand plan, it's doomed to fail. Icheb's pathogen only brought down one cube. And you aren't the first species to try to use a virus to take down the Collective either. They only brought down one cube too. I don't know exactly how many cubes the Borg have, but I'm willing to bet there are more of them than you have children."

"How dare-" Yifay began yelling.

"End transmission," Janeway said. "Red alert. All hands to battlestations."

The ship quickly caught up to the transport. A quick scan revealed that Icheb was alive on board, but likely unconscious.

"Transport him to sickbay," Chakotay said,

"I can't," Harry said. "There's some kind of interference."

"Because of course there is," Janeway said.

"The interference appears to be coming from the conduit," Tuvok said. "By my estimate, a Borg vessel will emerge in less than 40 seconds."

"Harry, do what you can to break through that interference," Janeway said.

"Working on it," Harry said.

"We still can't establish a lock at this distance," Seven said.

"Tom, get us closer to that ship," Janeway said.

"30 seconds," Tuvok said.

"Yes ma'am," Tom said, sounding nervous. The image of the Brunali transport vessel grew larger on the viewscreen.

"A conduit is opening," Tuvok said. "20 seconds."

"When that Borg ship comes through I'm gonna have a hell of a time getting away from it," Tom said.

"One problem at a time," Janeway said.

"I have a lock," Harry said.

"Grab him and get the shields back up," Janeway said. Tuvok began counting down from ten. As he reached six Seven reported that Icheb had been beamed directly to sickbay.

"Get us out of here," Janeway said, "maximum-" The ship shuddered violently, cutting off her order.

A Borg sphere was on screen now, its tractor beam having caught both the transport and _Voyager_ , and pulling them both towards an open hatch.

"Target their tractor beam generator," Janeway said.

"I cannot get a clean shot with the Brunali transport in our firing arc," Tuvok said.

"The sphere is hailing us," Harry said. "I assume I can ignore."

"Good call," Janeway said. "Tuvok, target the transport, then-"

"Wait," Seven of Nine said, "I have an idea. Transport a timed photon torpedo to the Brunali vessel. Set it detonate as soon as it's inside the sphere."

"That will occur in approximately 20 seconds," Tuvok said. "However, _Voyager_ will be inside less than 3 seconds later."

"Tom, full reverse thrusters," Janeway said. "It might buy us a few more seconds." _If they don't burn out from the strain first_ , she thought. "Do it."

Janeway heard Seven manipulate the console behind her. A second later Seven began counting down.

"Tom, go to warp on my mark," Janeway said. "All hands, brace for impact."

Seven's countdown ended and the viewscreen lit up as an explosion engulfed the sphere's opening. The tractor beam abruptly shut and _Voyager_ lurched free as the shock wave hit them, knocking everyone off their stations and causing sparks to fly from consoles.

"Now, Mister Paris!"

 _Voyager_ leapt to warp speed, narrowly avoiding an even larger shockwave and explosion.

"The sphere is heavily damaged," Tuvok said. "They are not pursuing."

Janeway sighed. That was too close for comfort. She wondered briefly if they would've even had a chance had the Borg been what they once were before the degradation that Seven had theorized, but decided that that was too unpleasant a thought to contemplate and pushed it aside.

"Tom, put us back on course to the Alpha Quadrant."

* * *

Seven of Nine and Samantha Wildman held hands as they watched the Doctor continue his scans of a still unconscious Icheb. Seven had told Samantha that she had been right all along, but as she'd expected Sam took no pleasure in it. Seven had learned long ago, and today had only reinforced the concept, that being correct was not always the preferred outcome.

"Did his parents reinfect him?" Sam asked after Seven filled her in on what they'd learned from Icheb's parents before the rescue.

"No," the Doctor said. "They merely sedated him. He was genetically engineered. I don't know how I missed it before, but Icheb was not infected with the pathogen, his body produces it. He's been producing it since birth."

"That's a terrifying thought," Sam said, echoing Seven's thoughts almost word for word. "Bred to kill Borg. How are we going to tell him?"

"We can worry about that when he wakes up," Seven said to Sam. To the Doctor she said, "Is he in any danger?"

"I can suppress the pathogen. He'll be fine, physically. He's going to need help coming to terms with what happened. I'm afraid I don't know what the standard psychological treatment for finding out your parents only conceived you to be used as a weapon of war is."

"We'll do our best," Sam said. "We have to. We're his family now."

"Sam?" Seven said. "Are you sure-"

"Yes, I am," Samantha said. "I know what I said before, but…" Seven nodded, remembering the conversation they'd had the day of the _Voyager_ science fair.

"Perhaps," Seven said, "knowing that he has a sister now will help soften the blow."

* * *

The next morning, Icheb was in astrometrics. but not working on astronomical phenomena this time. He had his genome and that of an ordinary Brunali male on the viewscreen, comparing them, when Seven of Nine and Noah Lessing walked in.

"Hey kid," Lessing said, nodding politely. Icheb nodded politely in return. He hadn't spoken to any of the _Equinox_ survivors before. He wondered if they ever felt as out of place as he did right now, though based on what he'd heard from other _Voyager_ crew members one of the other survivors such as Gilmore or Sofin would be the better one to speak with as Lessing largely kept to himself when he wasn't on duty.

"I did not realize you had already been cleared to leave sickbay," Seven said. "I would've come to get you."

"I wanted to have some time alone," Icheb said.

Seven looked at the screen. "I was unaware you had an interest in genetics as well as astrophysics."

"I do not know," Icheb said. He felt embarrassed about the truth, but he said it anyway. "My parents said I might have an aptitude for it as well."

"I see," Seven said. "What have you learned?" He showed her the differences between the genomes that he had uncovered in his research, pointing out the changes his parents made to his to cause his body to produce the pathogen.

"It is, ingenious," he said, his scientific curiosity clashing with and overpowering the shame and anger he felt towards his parents.

"It is barbaric," Seven said.

"They were trying to defend themselves," Icheb said. "Their way of life. I do not believe they would've done something so, barbaric as you say, if they weren't desperate."

"Kid," Lessing said, "take it from someone who knows. There are some lines that should never be crossed. Even in self-defense. My former Captain did that once. I went along with it. In the end, it got a lot of my friends killed."

"I do not believe the situations are analogous," Icheb said.

"Perhaps not," Seven said. "But ultimately the decision whether or not to forgive your parents is up to you, and you alone."

"Do you?" Icheb said. "Forgive them?" Seven sighed.

"No," she said. "And I do not believe I will any time in the foreseeable future. But as I said, your forgiveness is yours to give or not. It's your decision."

"Then they have it," Icheb said. "I have no desire to hold a grudge."

Seven didn't say anything. She looked at the screen and back at Icheb. "Very well," she said. "However, if you wish to continue your research, genetics or astrophysics, you will need to do it elsewhere. Mister Lessing and I have work to do."

Icheb thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps I will program the game of pala into the holodeck," he said.

 **Chapter Ten**

"I'm not saying you shouldn't do it," Samantha Wildman said to Seven of Nine. "I'm just saying that maybe you should try talking to her yourself before going to the Captain."

Seven of Nine raised an eyebrow. "The Captain asked me to oversee this year's annual performance reviews. I do not see why I should give a less than accurate report."

"Let me try this again," Sam said. "I know Celes is a bit of a, well, she's…" Sam struggled to find a nice way to convey. It wasn't that she disliked Crewman Tal Celes. She actually found the young Bajoran quite friendly, despite her shyness; a shyness that had only gotten worse in recent years.

"She is the most error prone officer on board," Seven said. "Her work in astrometrics always needs to be double-checked."

"I know that," Sam said. "Believe me, I know, she did a rotation in the lab before you came on board and... don't even get me started. My point is though, what exactly can be gained by relieving her of duty? It's not like she can just hop on the next shuttle back to Bajor. Isn't there something she might be good at? You could just have the Captain transfer her."

"Where?" Seven said. "The problem is obviously not her skills, at least not based on what I saw in her academy records. The problem would seem to be that she has failed to adapt to _Voyager's_ situation."

"Probably," Sam said. "Still don't see what relieving her of duty would do. Again, she doesn't exactly have any place else to go."

"Perhaps she could aid Neelix in the kitchen," Seven said.

Sam didn't think that was necessarily a bad idea, but she was skeptical it would work. She couldn't think of a reason not to try it though, and she was about to tell Seven just that when the room's comm system chirped.

"Janeway to Seven of Nine," the Captain said.

"Yes, Captain?" Seven said.

"Do you have the reports I requested ready?"

"I do," Seven said. "Shall I forward them to your ready room?"

"Go ahead and bring them personally," Janeway said. "And bring Samantha with you. I have something I'd like to discuss with her."

Had Janeway's tone not been fairly jovial, Sam might've been worried about being summoned to meet with the Captain. With the exceptions of promotions, one on ones with the Captain were rarely about anything good, and Sam had never put in for a promotion her entire career.

"On our way, Captain," Sam said. The comm closed, and Sam bit her lower lip. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because you've developed something of a fatalistic attitude in recent years?" Seven suggested.

"Honey, remember that conversation we had about tact?"

* * *

"We'll be passing through a class-T cluster in the next couple of days," Captain Janeway said to Seven and Samantha as the two stood across from her in her ready room, "It's not important enough to alter course, but I think it's at least important enough to send out the _Delta Flyer_ to get a full range of scans."

"I assume that's why I'm still here, Captain?" Seven said. "You do have my report."

"A reasonable assumption," Janeway said, "but an incorrect one." Janeway stood up, and moved around to the front of her desk, and leaned back, arms crossed. "I'm piloting the Flyer for this mission, and I'm planning on taking a few crew members with me who I think could use some special attention."

"Oh no," Sam muttered.

"Samantha," Janeway said, "you can't stay on the ship forever. Sooner or later a time's going to come when you need to leave, be it for good or bad reasons. You weren't planning on staying on board once we got back to the Alpha Quadrant were you?"

"Well, no, but…"

"So the sooner we deal with this newfound phobia of yours the better," Janeway said.

"Captain," Seven said, "while I personally agree that Samantha should not be afraid to go on away missions, especially those that would allow her to continue practicing her field of xenobiology, I'm not sure ordering her to go on a _Delta Flyer_ mission is the wisest course of action."

Samantha nodded vigorously. Captain Janeway understood why, considering how badly her first and so far only mission in the _Flyer_ had gone. But in the almost year and a half since then, _Voyager_ had come across so many planets with some astonishing alien fauna, the very thing that Ensign Wildman had joined Starfleet to study in the first place, and she had passed on the chance to see every single one of them.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to pull rank this time, Ensign. You and two other crew members yet to be determined will join me on the _Flyer_ at 1300 hours."

Sam looked like she wanted to protest, but instead simply nodded. Janeway couldn't help but notice that her hands were shaking at her sides.

"Permission to speak freely, Captain?" Seven said.

"When have you ever not?" Janeway said, smiling.

"I think this is ill-advised," Seven said. "If this were a planetary mission I might be willing to assist in encouraging Sam to go along, but the data astrometrics has on the cluster you are ordering her to go into is incomplete. If I can't dissuade you from following through on this order, at least allow me to go with her."

"Request denied," Janeway said to Seven. To Samantha she said, "Sam, this is an order, but I want you to know that if after the mission is over, you still want to be kept off the away mission roster, I'll honor that. I just feel you've let a few bad experiences cloud your judgement. While it doesn't seem like it sometimes, well more than half our away missions are uneventful, and of the ones that aren't we know going in the situation will be difficult and we plan accordingly. And I would never send you on one of those kinds of missions under any circumstance. You're a biologist, not a security officer."

Sam looked at Seven.

"If you don't want to go, Sammy, I can talk to Chakotay, maybe convince him to-"

"No, it's okay, Annie," Sam said, eyes closed, and visibly nervous. "I'll do this. I can do this. There aren't any plasma storms nearby are there?"

"No," Seven said.

Sam stood at attention, took a deep breath, and looked Janeway in the eye.

"I'll be ready by 1300 hours, Captain," she said.

Janeway smiled. "See you then. Dismissed."

* * *

Chakotay wondered to himself how many ways he could tell the Captain that one of the three crew members she'd chosen for the mission was a mistake without outright committing insubordination. He settled instead for saying "Are you sure?" for the third time in almost as many minutes.

"I understand your concerns," Captain Janeway said. "But if we don't get Tassoni more integrated into the crew soon he's going to become a problem."

"He does his job, but only to the bare minimum. He follows orders, but in the most passive-aggressive fashion possible. He refuses to even try to interact with the rest of the crew, including his former shipmates. If you insist on taking someone from the _Equinox_ with you on this mission, why not one of the others?"

"The others are at least trying, to varying degrees of success. Tassoni acts like we're going to kick him off the ship any day now so 'why bother.' I want to make it clear to him that there can be a place for him on this crew."

Chakotay shook his head. "And if he doesn't want to be?"

Janeway sighed, and shrugged. Chakotay figured that she didn't really have a good answer to that question.

"If I can't talk you out of this," he said, "I at least insist you keep a phaser on you, just in case."

Janeway chuckled. "I appreciate the concern, but Tassoni has shown no inclination towards violence since coming aboard."

"I know that," Chakotay said, "but better safe than sorry."

"We'll be fine with the phasers that are stocked on the _Flyer_ normally," Janeway said. "I doubt we'll need them giving where we're going but as you say, better safe than sorry."

Chakotay simply nodded. He didn't like it, but he had backed his Captain on more questionable decisions than this in the past. If he had truly felt that she was needlessly endangering herself and others, he'd push back. He'd done it before, and despite how ugly that had gotten, they still respected each other after it was over.

"Well," he said, "have fun."

"I intend to," Janeway said.

* * *

"I have to admit, Brian," Marla Gilmore said to Brian Sofin, the two of them sitting in a corner of the mess hall having lunch, "I figured it would bother you that Angelo got to go on an away mission before you did."

"No, it's okay," Sofin said. "It still amazes me sometimes how few people will give me a dirty look anymore. Is less than a year all it really takes to get over someone stealing a key piece of technology from you and leaving you to die?"

"I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that the man who ordered us to do that is dead," Marla said. "But yeah, I get the feeling. Sometimes when I'm in engineering, it feels like people are treating me like I've always been part of the team." She sipped her tea, glanced at the various other crew members chatting and enjoying their meals, while Neelix stirred something in one of his massive pots.

"Marla? You still with us?" Sofin said.

"Yeah, just thinking. On the one hand, I look at these people and think that they never would've done what we did. On the other…"

"They had it a lot easier than us," Sofin said. "Easy being relative of course. Most of this ship's senior staff were dead before they even knew what hit them. And we didn't have to deal with a Cardassian spy or Betazoid serial killer."

Marla rolled her eyes. "I think I'd take both of those things times two before dealing with the Ankari spirits of good fortune again."

Sofin shrugged. "Yeah, fair point."

"Have you talked to Angelo at all? Since Ransom died I mean."

"Only once. He didn't say it directly, but I think that he thinks you, me, and James betrayed the Captain; sold him out."

"You told him that Captain Ransom helped save us, right? That Burke was the one who got the rest of our shipmates killed?"

"I did. So did James." Sofin finished the last of his food. "I hope getting to go on an away mission again will snap him out of it. He was a good officer back before we started killing those aliens for fuel. Maybe he can be again. I'd certainly feel better about him being in security."

"How does that work, by the way?" Marla said. "How can he be on the security team if he isn't allowed to have a phaser yet?"

"You'd have to ask someone else," Sofin said. "I don't really get to talk to the security people."

* * *

Captain Janeway flew the _Delta Flyer_ away from _Voyager_ , her three charges situated behind her. She had put Angelo at the tactical station despite the unlikeliness of needing to use the ship's weapons. Samantha took the seat behind him, refusing the one directly behind Janeway at the helm. She explained that it had been the chair she was in when the _Flyer_ had crashed last year, so Janeway didn't argue. Tal Celes took that seat instead, monitoring the sensors, and glad to do so as the young Bajoran was convinced that was one of the few things she was good at.

As soon as the _Flyer_ went into warp, Janeway began the mission briefing. "Once we reach the cluster," she said, "we'll drop out of warp and maintain one-quarter impulse on the sweep through the protostars. Celes, you're going to be running an ongoing sensor analysis. Samantha, you'll be looking at subspace particle decay for anything new we might learn about star formation. I know that's not your field, but I can assist you along the way. Mister Tassoni, your job will be to look for signs of life, a long shot in this environment, but it's something to do."

"Captain," Tassoni said, keeping his voice polite, but still rolling his eyes, "I know it's not my field either, but I do know enough about these types of clusters that if we find any planets at all they'll be gas giants."

"They could have moons," Samantha said.

"Captain, I have to ask again why you insisted on bringing me along. Haven't my former friends done more to earn this opportunity than I have?"

"Former?" Janeway said. She'd heard of course, on several occasions, that Tassoni was never seen interacting with the other _Equinox_ survivors, but this detail was news to her.

"They don't appreciate what Captain Ransom did for us, the sacrifices he was willing to make, even his own conscience, to save us. They think they have to apologize for doing what we needed to to survive. I won't."

The cabin of the _Flyer_ got uncomfortably quiet. Janeway could see Samantha's left hand from the helm chair, and saw that it was clenching and unclenching. Celes looked like she wished she could melt into the bulkhead and not have to listen to any of this.

"I'm not here to rehash arguments about what Captain Ransom did," Janeway said. "I'm here to see if you can function as part of a team without being rude to your teammates. I can see we're off to a bad start, but let's call this a dry run and start over. Mister Tassoni, your job will be to look for signs of life in the cluster."

Tassoni narrowed his eye briefly, but nodded. "Aye, Captain."

Janeway turned back around to keep an eye on the helm console. Tassoni was right about one thing, there was no point in trying to change his mind. He truly felt that under the circumstances, Ransom did the right thing. She disagreed, but while there would be a time and place to address the larger issues of that incident, it wasn't now. Not while they all had to live together. A Federation inquiry once they all got back to the Alpha Quadrant would decide ultimately what to do, if anything, with the _Equinox_ survivors. Her job was simply to keep them alive and make sure they did their jobs. So far, at least as far as she was concerned, that was mostly working. Angelo Tassoni though would have to learn to dial back his attitude, and with any luck, this mission would help make that happen.

* * *

Samantha found herself about to drift off. She didn't usually get tired on away missions, but she had failed to get a full night's rest before she had to leave. Seven of Nine had been very supportive of her, even providing her with a thermos of Sam's favorite flavor tea before leaving, but no amount of coddling from her wife was going to make this any easier. She was tired, and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which it seemed to almost immediately, as mere seconds after dropping out of warp the _Delta Flyer_ shook. Samantha gripped the edge of the console so hard her hands hurt.

"Engine status?" Captain Janeway said.

"Within parameters," Tal Celes said.

"Anything on sensors?"

Sam took a deep breath, let go of the edge of the console, and began manipulating the controls. "Uh, nothing. Might've just been a hiccup with the impulse drive."

"Not unheard of," Janeway said, "but rare. I'm going to take a look at it. In the meantime, I think we're due for lunch. Celes, head below and see what Neelix packed for us."

"Aye, Captain," Celes said. Sam had to admit, she couldn't remember the last time she'd heard the young Bajoran sound so confident. She seemed to like it out here. _Perhaps_ , she thought, _when we get back she can transfer to a smaller ship. Some people just prefer tighter spaces_.

A console near Janeway beeped, and she looked at it. "Sam, can you identify the source of that spatial fluctuation?"

"What fluc-" Sam's request for additional information was violently interrupted by the _Delta Flyer_ shaking hard enough to nearly send her to the floor. _Not again, not again_ , she thought. The stars out side became swirls, a sign that the _Flyer_ was spinning wildly, only the inertial dampeners keeping the four people inside from being pinned to the bulkhead.

The Captain, struggling with the controls the whole time, finally managed to get the ship stabilized.

"What the hell was that?" Tassoni said, checking his monitors. "Were we attacked?"

"I don't know," Janeway said. "We need to get propulsion back on line first, then we can figure out what hit us."

"I can't see anything on sensors," Sam said.

"Same here," Celes said. "But whatever hit us tore a section of plating off the outer hull. Ninety percent of our anti-matter has been neutralized. The reaction's cold. So much for warp drive."

"Impulse engines are still operational, but they've been damaged," Janeway said. "We won't be able to go faster than 1/8th impulse. We'll have to call _Voyager_ to come pick us up. Is the subspace transmitter working?"

"Affirmative," Tassoni said.

" _Delta Flyer_ to _Voyager_ ," Janeway said, "we've been hit by an unknown phenomenon and have taken heavy damage. We require assistance." Janeway hit a button. "Transmit that message continuously on all subspace frequencies," she said to Samantha.

"I think I know what got us," Celes said, "A dark matter protocomet."

"A what?" Sam said, knowing what dark matter and comets were, but having never heard of one of the latter made out of the former.

"I read a paper on those once," Janeway said. "If I remember right, the theory was anything like that would be attracted to any source of antimatter and neutralize it upon contact. Are you sure that's what hit us, Celes?"

"Mostly," Celes said, her more normal shy personality reasserting itself. "I went to the academy with the guy who wrote that paper. I remembered him talking about it, otherwise I would've never thought to look. I know it's not something to normally look for but…"

"But if you're right, we may have evidence that will make your former classmate very happy," Janeway said, smiling. "Good thinking."

Sam smiled herself, despite the situation. While she longed to be back on _Voyager_ with her family, she took some small comfort in finally seeing a crewmate who had fallen behind her peers have the chance to step things up. She also couldn't help but note that Angelo Tassoni had gotten far more professional once things started to go bad.

 _Perhaps some good will come out of this mess after all_ , Sam thought. _I just wish I wasn't here to see it_.

"Should we eject our remaining antimatter?" Tassoni said. "If it attracts these protocomets we might get hit again."

"Not yet," Janeway said. "We may still have a chance to get the warp drive back on-line."

"We may not survive another hit," Celes said. "Ma'am," she added quickly. If the Captain was offended by her speaking out of turn she gave no sign of it."

"A few more minutes," Janeway said.

"Understood," Celes said. "Also, Captain, if it's alright, we should bring the damaged hull plating aboard. It's only ten kilometers away. Impact from a dark matter body might've left something valuable on it that could help us detect any further such bodies. If we can get a decent warning if another protocomet approaches…"

"We can dump the antimatter we have left and save the ship," Janeway said. "Good thinking, Crewman. Do we have transporters?"

"Yes," Tassoni said. "I've already found the plate, and am locking on right now."

"Good," Janeway said. "Beam it to the aft section. Celes, come with me. Sam, Angelo, continue repairs."

"Yes ma'am," Tassoni said.

"On it, Captain," Samantha said. Once Celes and Janeway exited the cabin, Sam let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes.

"Figures," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that, Ensign?" Tassoni said.

"I'm saying it figures. I didn't want to leave the ship because the last several times I have, something had gone wrong. And what happened to us today?"

"That sounds like an incredible run of bad luck," Tassoni said, not sounding as sympathetic in tone as the words implied. "Not that I would know, most of my bad days were on a ship."

"I didn't mean to-"

"Offend me? No, I know," Tassoni said. "I'm just trying to say that I understand how you feel."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Samantha said. "Annie told me what a mess the _Equinox_ was when we found you."

"Annie?" Tassoni said.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you knew that Seven of Nine's birthname was Annika."

"No," Tassoni said. "I knew that she still went by her Borg designation, but I'd figured she just didn't remember her name."

"No. For the record though, she only lets me call her that so…"

"Understood," Tassoni said.

* * *

Captain Janeway ran her tricorder over the hull fragment now lying on the floor. Once she was done scanning the entire chunk of metal, she handed it off to Tal Celes.

"Download this into the main computer," she said, now looking at the debris. "It looks like it was sheared off rather than blown off."

Celes began working at a console near the back of the room, looking tense.

"Everything alright Crewman?"

"Fine, Captain. It's just… I'm sorry I spoke out of turn earlier, about the antimatter."

"It was a valid point," Janeway said.

"I guess so," Celes said.

"You doubt yourself too much, Crewman," Janeway said.

"I should. And you should too. My work always needs to be double-checked, as I'm sure you've been told before. I imagine I'd have been kicked out of astrometrics a long time ago, but I think being married has softened Seven of Nine a little bit."

"We all make mistakes," Janeway said. "Even me," she added, several of the ones she considered her biggest coming to the forefront of her mind, threatening to distract her.

"Every day? Every time you report for your shift? On _Voyager_ , it doesn't matter because nothing I do is that critical. Seven doesn't trust me with anything important. The crew is protected from my mistakes there, but out here I could get us killed."

"The reason we know what hit us is because of you, Celes," Janeway said, trying to bolster Celes's spirits without pushing too hard. "You showed evidence of unconventional thinking on your application. That's why I accepted you to the post when your name came up."

"I only know what hit us because of something someone else said to me one time," Celes said.

"So? Trust me, Crewman, my senior staff have pulled ideas that saved our ship out of places much darker than your memory," Janeway said with a smirk.

Celes chuckled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, Captain, but you have to understand. To you this is just data. To me, it's a monster with fangs and claws. In my nightmares I'm chased by algorithms. My brain just wasn't built to understand this."

"We could find you another post on _Voyager_ ," Janeway said, though she had to admit to herself that she wasn't sure where.

"I don't think there is any place for me there. Not unless you need a waitress in the mess hall."

"There's more to duty than the ability to manipulate algorithms. Everybody on _Voyager_ has showed a courage far beyond what I could've expected considering the circumstances."

"I appreciate the thought, Captain. And I'm happy that you want me to do well. But I don't deserve to be on your ship. I'm not really a part of _Voyager_. I just live there. If it takes long enough for us to get home, eventually even Naomi, or Icheb, or probably even Angelo Tassoni will outrank me. I accept that."

Janeway sighed. She wished she had a trained counselor onboard. She was starting to realize that this level of low self-esteem was beyond her ability overcome. She had managed to inspire her crew during tough times, but she couldn't get this one Bajoran woman to see herself as anything but a failure. That fact broke her heart.

* * *

Six hours later, with no reply from _Voyager_ , but also no further impacts, Samantha and the others gathered around to hear Captain Janeway's report.

"Our scans of the hull fragment were inconclusive," Janeway said. "We found some displaced positrons, which are consistent with a dark matter impact, but could've been caused by something else. If we try to recalibrate our sensors with this little information we could end up with either a bunch of false alarms, or completely fail to catch the protocomet that finishes us off. Though I take the fact that we haven't been hit by anything else yet as a good sign." She touched the screen and a map came up. Sam wondered where this was going.

"There's a gas giant only a few hours from our current position," Janeway said. "T-class, surrounded by orbital rings, including one that's radiogenic."

"We could use those particles to reinitialize our warp core reaction, right?" Celes said. Sam couldn't help but notice that what confidence she'd gained during the initial crisis had faded away in the interim.

"Exactly," Janeway said, smiling and nodding at Celes. "With only ten percent of our antimatter left, we'd only be able to make warp two, but that's a hell of a lot better than our current pace. Everyone clear on the plan?"

Samantha nodded, and saw that everyone else was too.

"All right," Janeway said. "Let's do this."

As the crew took their seats to begin the journey, there was suddenly a brief shudder. Sam thought for a moment that they would need to eject the core after all, but it stopped just as quickly as it had started.

"I doubt that was another protocomet," Janeway said.

"If it was I-" Sam said, her thought cut off by a noise that seemed to be coming from nowhere, but was getting louder.

"Find the source of that sound," Janeway said. Sam grabbed a tricorder and opened it, seeing that everyone else except for the Captain had too. They all scanned around them, and when they reached the source, a look of dread appeared on everyone's face, none more so than Angelo Tassoni, who looked at his tricorder in visible fear.

"Oh no," he said.

Suddenly, Tassoni vanished in a haze of green light, like some sort of transport beam.

"What the hell?" Samantha yelled.

"That's impossible!" Celes said.

"Where is he?" Janeway said.

Sam and Celes each bolted to the console nearest to them. Sam frantically tried to find any sign of him; his bio-signature, his comm badge, anything.

"I can't locate him," she said, "He's not out there. Not in space, not in sub-space…"

A brief noise similar to the longer, louder one that had preceded Angelo's disappearance came and went, and as soon as it ended, Tassoni reappeared right where he'd been sitting, looking exhausted. With a groan, he fell over.

Sam went to him, Celes right next to her scanning him with a tricorder while Sam looked for visible signs of injury, eventually seeing a cut on the back of his neck.

" _Inside... me..._ " Tassoni said. Sam gasped and nearly fell backwards as a creature of some sort could be seen moving around under his skin. Sam felt a tap on her shoulder, and saw Janeway behind her and Celes, motioning for both of them to head to the aft compartment, while she helped Tassoni to his feet.

"Activate the transporter," Janeway said, though to whom she was too close to panic to be certain. "Try to get a lock on whatever's inside him."

Tassoni was panting, sweating, and barely able to stand. Janeway waved Sam over while Celes went to a console and frantically began manipulating the controls.

"Help me get him into the bio-bed," Janeway said, pressing a button. The bio-bed slid out of the wall, and the two women got the man into it quickly. Janeway took out her own tricorder and began scanning him.

"The tricorder isn't picking up anything," Janeway said, sounding worried.

"But I can feel it," Tassoni said.

"I-I can't get a lock," Celes said, sounding equally scared. Sam desperately wanted someone to remain calm in this situation, but was afraid that it would have to be herself. "It's like something's there but it's not there."

"Oh, it's there," Tassoni said.

"Unfortunately," Janeway said, feeling at Tassoni's sides with her bare hands, "I have to agree."

"Maybe we weren't hit by a protocomet after all," Sam said. "No comet I ever heard of could do something like this."

"Think about it," Janeway said. "Sensors can't find this thing, transporters can't lock on to it… Maybe this is some kind of dark matter lifeform."

"That can't be right," Sam said, trying to come up with an alternate explanation in her mind, but failing. Still, it had to be wrong. "Molecules that complex would collapse under their own weight. They could never support life."

"It's the best theory we got right now," Janeway said to Sam. She looked down at Tassoni. "Angelo, where did they take you?"

"I don't know," Tassoni said, far more calm than Sam would've expected but still visibly in considerable pain. "It was dark, hot, there was breathing all around me. I tried to speak but there wasn't enough air. I tried to move, but something was pressing down on me."

"Should we sedate him?" Sam asked.

"If we do that it might lower his immune response," Janeway said. "I don't like seeing him like this either, but I don't want to take that chance. Angelo?"

"I understand, Captain," Tassoni said. "You should put up a force field around the bio-bed. Just in case this thing breaks out of me."

Sam couldn't believe how matter-of-factly the man had described something that could potentially lead to a very painful death, but then she remembered that this was a man who'd lived with the threat of certain death hanging over him for years.

"Celes," Janeway said, "come with me. Sam, stay with him."

"Understood," Sam said. She hoped the Captain had some idea of how to help their colleague. She walked over to the bio-bed, as close as she could get without hitting the force field, and, as silly as it made her feel, tried to engage Angelo Tassoni in small talk.

* * *

"I'm setting a course for those rings," Janeway said as she sat in the pilot's seat. "Shunt as much power as you can to those impulse engines. Maybe we can get just a little more than 1/8th impulse."

"We never should've left _Voyager_ ," Celes said, sighing sadly as she followed Janeway's orders. Janeway tried but failed not to smirk, glad that Celes wasn't looking at her.

" _Voyager's_ not exactly a safe haven either, Crewman. The Vidiians, the Kazon, the Borg, Species 8472, the Malon, I could go on and on."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Captain." Celes said.

"Just trying to put things in perspective. We've been chased across this quadrant by things far worse than whatever's doing this to Angelo."

"I've got you three more percentage points of impulse," Celes said.

"I'll take it," Janeway said. "Good work. Have you considered engineering?"

"What?"

"If you feel that astrometrics isn't right for you-"

"Captain, is this really the time for this?"

"Perhaps not," Janeway said. "But unless something changes with Angelo, there's not much else we can do until we reach those rings."

"Fair enough, ma'am, but I'd honestly rather not think or talk about my career right now."

Janeway couldn't argue that point, so she respectfully stopped talking. The silence for the next few moments was uncomfortable, but Janeway decided it was best to just let Celes do her work.

"Incoming transmission," Celes said, sounding shocked. Janeway was shocked herself.

"Source?" she said.

"It's a Starfleet frequency," Celes said. "Must be _Voyager_." The com system activated, and at first the signal coming through was all static, but as it gradually faded, Janeway sighed heavily as she recognized her own voice, and her own words. Then she noticed something. Certain words were repeating, and not like an echo, but several times for one word, but only twice for another. There didn't seem to be a pattern in it, but that didn't mean there wasn't one.

"Subspace echo," Celes said, her voice cracking.

"Maybe not," Janeway said. "There's a .005 deviation in the carrier wave. Recognize that number?"

"From our scans of the hull fragment, yes," Celes said. "But what could that mean?"

"They're bouncing our own distress signal back to us," Janeway said. "But modified. They might be trying to communicate. Try to adjust the universal translator for-"

"Captain!" Samantha Wildman yelled. Janeway turned to see Angelo Tassoni, pale, but walking upright. "I don't know how, but he went right through the force field," Sam added.

"Angelo," Janeway said, her hand moving close to a panel where she knew a hand phaser was kept, "what are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything," Tassoni said through gritted teeth. "It's controlling me. I can't stop it. You'll have to stop it."

"How? Janeway said. Tassoni directed his gaze towards the panel that Janeway had her hand near.

"Do it," he said.

Janeway quickly opened the panel, took out the phaser, and was glad to see it was already on a low stun setting. She fired, hitting Tassoni square in the chest, He yelped, and fell back, but remained conscious.

"It's in my shoulder," he said, tearing up, the pain clearly getting to be too much. The alien, whatever it was, ripped through the skin on Tassoni's neck where the cut they'd seen earlier had been and lept onto a console. It reminded Janeway of a millipede, only much larger, and glowing black and purple. Its tiny legs began manipulating controls on the console, equally purple sparks of energy coming from it as it did so.

"It's tapping into our systems," Celes said, panic entering her voice.

"Wait," Janeway said, "it might be trying to communicate."

The console's lights began flickering. Soon, sparks began exploding from the console.

"It's in our environmental controls," Celes said. "We've got to stop it."

"Wait," Janeway said again, but Celes had already found another phaser and fired at the alien, vaporizing it. Janeway knocked the phaser out of her hand.

"What the hell did you do?" she said.

"It was trying to kill us," Celes said. "I had to. I'm sorry."

"You don't know that for certain," Janeway said.

"I heard its thoughts, Captain," Tassoni said. "When it left me, I could hear what it was thinking. 'Do not belong.' That's what it said."

"It didn't belong on the _Delta Flyer_?" Janeway asked.

"Or it could mean that we don't belong in this part of space," Samantha said.

"Prophets forgive me," Celes said. "What if it was just trying to survive? What did I do?"

"We can discuss this later," Janeway said. "If it was hostile, it probably has friends who will come after us. We need to get to those rings to-"

The _Flyer_ shook violently, sending nearly everyone toppling to the floor.

"We just lost another section of hull," Celes said, managing to take a seat at the nearest console.

"How far are we from the gas giant?" Janeway said.

"200,000 kilometers," Celes said.

"I'm taking the _Flyer_ into the radiogenic ring," Janeway said. "With any luck they won't follow."

"We can't survive in there for more than a few minutes," Celes said.

"That should be enough to reinitialize the warp core," Janeway said.

As she flew the _Delta Flyer_ into the rings, she wondered if this situation was avoidable. The more thought she gave it though, she realized that there was no right answer. The odds were roughly 50/50 that the alien was either trying to communicate and the environmental controls were an accident, or it was trying to kill them and Tal Celes had done the right thing. Regrettably, she doubted she'd ever know.

"Start continuous transport of radiogenic particles directly into the reaction chamber. When it's approaching critical mass, let me know." She got up and headed to the back of the cabin to check on Tassoni. "Watch for any sign of pursuit."

Tassoni sat on the floor, leaned back against the bulkhead, looking exhausted, but also relieved. Janeway imagined that, despite how painful the exit look, having the creature gone was a great relief to him.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Mildly amused by the irony of it all," Tassoni said. "I survive the _Equinox_ , only to end up nearly getting killed by a creature I didn't do anything to."

"This situation isn't anything like what happened on your old ship," Janeway said. "You didn't do anything wrong here. This is on me. I ordered the three of you out here."

"I know," Tassoni said.

"They're in pursuit," Celes called out from her station, sounding worried. "I've got multiple subspace variations, all of them .005, and all of them converging on our positions from the aft."

"Shit," Janeway muttered under her breath, quickly moving back to the helm. "How long do we have?"

"Three minutes, twenty seconds," Celes said.

"We'll need twice that to reinitialize warp reaction," Samantha said.

 _I got them into this_ , Janeway thought. _It's up to me to give them a chance to get back to_ Voyager. "Get in the escape pods," she said.

"Captain?" Samantha said.

"Plot a course away from the planet," Janeway said. "I'm going to fire a phaser volley and hopefully set off a chain reaction of the radiogenic particles. It might be enough to disable our friends."

"You'll be disabled too," Tassoni said, having recovered enough to take a seat behind Celes.

"Not if I go to full thrusters and keep in front of the shockwave," Janeway said.

"There's no guarantee we could get the pods to a safe distance in time, Captain," Samantha said. "As my wife would say, this is highly inadvisable plan."

"How would you say it, Sam?" Janeway said, smirking.

"With language that I would never use in front of my daughter, ma'am," Samantha said.

"She's right," Celes said. "About the escape pods I mean, not the language. And Angelo is in no shape to pilot an escape pod. We're staying."

"Are you disobeying an order, Crewman?" Janeway said.

"No, Captain," Celes said. "You didn't phrase it as an order."

Under less tense circumstances, Janeway would've called Celes out for using semantics to get around what she'd told her to do. Instead, she had to admit she was actually rather proud of Celes finally standing up for herself. _I must be getting soft in my old age_ , she thought.

"You know," Janeway said dryly, "most of the time, mutineers are trying to kill their Captains, not save them. You've made your choice. Hang on tight. Charge phaser banks and divert all available power to thrusters. How close are our pursuers?"

"Sixty-five seconds to intercept," Celes said.

"Stand by to fire, on my mark," Janeway said.

"Hey, Celes?" Tassoni said. "You ever consider tactical? You're doing pretty good at this."

"Not now," Celes said, focusing on her console.

"Fire," Janeway said. Janeway couldn't see the phaser beams as they were firing from the aft, but the light of the explosion began to fill the edges of the forward view port, even as she pushed the controls as hard as she could, actually grateful that Tom Paris had insisted on more old-fashioned tactile flight controls when he'd designed the _Flyer_. Having something she could grip rather than simply tap gave her more of a feeling of control, one she needed as the ship shuddered, the shockwave getting closer. A violent shake, much more than what they were already facing, caught her off guard, and she felt her head hit something, and her vision go blurry.

* * *

"Captain!" Celes yelled. Samantha moved forward to see if the Captain was alive. She was, but was clearly out of it, breathing, but her eyes closed.

"Auto-pilot is off-line," Tassoni said. "We're starting to turn back into the shockwave. The captain must've pulled the control when she went down."

"I don't know how to fly this thing," Celes said, starting to panic, though Samantha could only barely make out the words over the noise of the ship shaking.

 _This is it_ , she thought. _The_ Delta Flyer's _going to kill me after all_. Suddenly, random memories came to her. Skiing with Seven of Nine. Teaching Naomi how to do her hair. Showing Icheb how to work an electron microscope.

"Screw this," Samanta said. "I'm gonna live." She got into the pilot's seat, and looked at the controls. She cursed Tom Paris for having insisted on controls similar to older ships, as her only piloting experience, limited though it was, was on standard issue Starfleet shuttles with touchscreen controls. Still, she had watched Tom piloting it that week where she had nearly died along with Paris and Tuvok. She hoped it would be enough. She took the controls, and got the _Flyer_ back on course as best she could, nearly overtaxing the inertial dampeners in the process.

* * *

Seven of Nine was prepared to offer whatever comfort Samantha needed once she was cleared from sickbay with the others who had been on the _Delta Flyer_. She did not suspect that she would not need to. Seven entered sickbay, and before she could say a word, Samantha threw her arms around Seven, kissing her hard on the lips before pulling back.

"Oh, Annie, it was, wow. I've never felt anything like that before. Was it like that for you?"

"Was, what?"

"Saving people. Getting to be the hero."

"I don't under-"

"I brought them home," Samantha said, smiling, breathing heavily, barely able to stand still. Seven was concerned that she was having some form of attack. "I saved us. I flew the ship. I stabilized it so we wouldn't get destroyed in the shockwave. I've never saved anyone's life before. It's so exciting, I can barely even speak."

"Are you sure about that part?" Seven said, wanting to be happy that Sam was happy, but instead feeling confused.

"I know things didn't go as smoothly as the Captain planned," Samantha said, finally slowing down, "but it was worth it. I'm not afraid to leave the ship anymore."

Seven titled her head. "I was led to believe that phobias were not so easily cured."

"Cured, no," The Doctor said, "but what Sam had wasn't a true phobia. Not in the medical sense of the word anyway."

Seven felt Samantha's hands on her behind, squeezing gently.

"You wanna know something else getting to be the hero makes me feel?" Sam said.

"I do not need to be seeing this," The Doctor said, quickly moving to the other bio-beds to look after the Captain, Tal Celes, and Angelo Tassoni.

"Are any of the holodecks free?" Seven said.

"Let's find out," Sam said.

* * *

Tal Celes was lying down in her quarters, her sheets pulled over her head. She was late for a shift, but didn't care. She heard the door open, but didn't bother to look.

"Go away," she groaned.

"Not yet," Captain Janeway's voice replied.

Celes sat upright so fast she nearly got dizzy. "Captain! I, I didn't-"

"If you're going to make excuses for being late to your shift, don't bother. I told Commander Chakotay to give you a pass. This time. I just wanted to come down and apologize to you in person since I didn't get the chance in sickbay."

"Apologize? For what?" Celes said, feeling confused.

"You made a judgement call when that dark matter alien was manipulating the environmental controls. I'm still not certain whether it was hostile or just confused, but that didn't give me the right to yell at you the way I did. You acted in defense of your crew. That's something to be proud of, Crewman."

"I killed something. Whatever it was. I've never taken a life before. Not even when I was still on Bajor. My family kept me hidden, and by the time I was old enough for them to finally let me fight, the Occupation was over. How can I live with myself? How do you do it, Captain? You've had to kill before, to defend the ship."

"Yes, yes, I have. You're probably wondering how I'm able to sleep at night after I've done so," Janeway said, sitting on the edge of Celes's bed.

"I didn't mean-"

"It's a fair question. I just wish I had the answer I think you're hoping for. Fact is, some nights, I can't. It gets easier with time, certainly. And how much they hurt us before I hurt them factors into it, I won't pretend it doesn't. Killing someone who's trying to kill you, it feels good, in the moment. But that moment never lasts. That's a good thing though. If it ever does become easy for you, that's when you have a problem." Janeway got up. "Be glad you feel remorseful, Crewman Tal. It means you're still one of the good guys. Take the day off, but I expect to see you in astrometrics for your regular shift tomorrow."

"Yes, Captain," Celes said.

 **Chapter Eleven**

"How was your trip, Doctor?" Seven of Nine said, as the Doctor scanned her Borg implants for their twice-monthly check-up.

"It went well," the Doctor said. "My creator is going to live. That's the short version. The longer version can wait until I've gotten caught up on everything here and have some free-time to speak of again. I was gone for over a month, after all."

Seven nodded. "I must admit, the work of the Pathfinder project has been impressive. I imagine the crew will be grateful for the opportunity to speak to the Alpha Quadrant, even if it will only be for brief periods of time."

"Well," the Doctor said, finishing his scan and putting his medical tricorder away, "hopefully they can reduce the wait time somehow. Only getting to talk to Starfleet for seventeen hours every thirty-two days doesn't seem like very much."

"Compared to the years that marked the distance between previous contacts?"

"Good point. Anyway, everything is perfectly normal. You're free to go."

"Thank you," Seven said. She headed for the exit, but stopped. "Actually, Doctor, there is something I need to ask."

"Oh?" The Doctor said.

"It's about the dream I had during my last regeneration cycle," Seven said. The Doctor wondered what this was about. "Lucid dreaming is fairly normal for me, but this, this was different. It felt like I was back in the Borg Collective, except the Collective was a forest, and all the people around me were wearing what I guess would be normal clothes for them."

"Do you think this is related to what you went through last year, with the vinculum?"

"No, I'm sure of that. I only recognized one person. A woman. She…" Seven looked around as if she was afraid someone would overhear her. "She tried to kiss me. I pushed her off, and she looked hurt. She called me Annika. I think I knew her, but I have no recollection of meeting her."

"Perhaps it's just old memories of people that you'd assimilated when you were still a drone," The Doctor said.

"Perhaps," Seven said. "Regardless, I remain concerned."

"Very well," The Doctor said. "Here. This device will monitor your R.E.M. cycles. If something is wrong, this should catch it."

"Thank you," Seven said.

* * *

Tom Paris walked onto the bridge for his shift, feeling rested and looking forward to taking the helm.

"You're late, Ensign," Captain Janeway said, sounding dour. That stopped Tom in his tracks.

"I am?" Tom said. He was fairly certain he wasn't. He'd finished his breakfast and had gotten dressed several minutes earlier than usual today, he was certain of it.

"According to the ship's chronometer," Tuvok said from the tactical console, "by twenty-two seconds."

"That's it? Less than half a minute?" Tom wondered just what was going on. He noticed that Commander Chakotay was looking at him with a severe stoic look on his face. He glanced over to see B'Elanna at the auxiliary engineering station, ignoring him.

"Take your station," Janeway said.

Tom decided not to argue the point. He'd been a few minutes late before, but hadn't been treated like this on those occasions. And the last time he was seriously late for his shift, that had been under Captain's orders as part of an operation to expose a traitor.

 _What the shit is this?_ he thought as he made his way to the helm. He stopped before sitting down, looking at the seat, and the small box that was sitting in it.

"Um," he said, "why is there a box on my chair?"

"Open it," Chakotay said, "that's an order."

Tom picked up the box. "It isn't my birthday yet," he said, as he lifted the lid. Inside was a black pip.

"Not only late," Janeway said, having moved up to stand by Tom, "but improperly dressed. That belongs on your collar, Lieutenant."

 _Back up to Lieutenant_ , Tom thought, smiling. _Nice. Junior grade, but still. At least Harry doesn't outrank me anymore_. He would've preferred to be back to full Lieutenant like he had been before last year's incident with the water planet, but he wasn't going to complain.

"You know," Harry said wryly, "I didn't see a little box on my chair."

"You have a chair?" Janeway said jokingly, the rest of the bridge crew giggling in response.

"Congratulations, Tom," Tom heard B'Elanna say from behind him. He turned around and saw that she had gotten up and moved up to him. She reached up to kiss him, but the sound of a console alarm interrupted them.

"Looks like a distress call," Harry said.

"Put them through," Chakotay said.

"I'm getting a carrier wave," Harry said, "but no message."

"Origin?" Janeway said.

"An asteroid," Tuvok said. "Approximately two light-years from here."

"Yellow alert," Janeway said. "Set a course."

"Aye, Captain," Tom said. _So much for celebrating my promotion. Or re-promotion, however you wanna look at it_.

A little over an hour later, _Voyager_ was within range to see the asteroid where the signal had come from on the viewscreen. Janeway ordered a visual, and Tom glanced up. The asteroid spun slowly, an artificial structure starting to come into view.

"I am reading multiple structures," Tuvok said. "It's a colony of some kind."

"Mining?" Janeway said.

"Unknown," Tuvok said.

"Open a channel," Janeway said. Tom hoped that there was someone there to answer. He'd seen far too many instances where _Voyager_ had been too slow to save someone for his liking.

"This is Captain Janeway of the starship _Voyager_ ," the Captain said once the channel was open. "We received your distress call."

The image of the structures on the asteroid got large on the viewscreen, and Tom let out a heavy sigh when he saw the damage done to them. Domes like those on some of the Federation's moon colonies, blown out and burnt. Had there been an atmosphere on the rock, there probably would've been smoke pouring out from the wreckage.

"Life signs?" Janeway said.

"None," Harry said.

"I'm detecting residual weapons signatures," Tuvok said. "They are consistent with known Borg weaponry."

"Any sign of a Borg vessel?" Janeway said.

"One," Tuvok said. "A cube, at the edge of this system."

"I hope they didn't see us," Tom muttered.

"Resume our previous course, Mister Paris. Warp six," Janeway said.

"Yes ma'am," Tom said. He took one last look at the wreckage of the asteroid colony before it left the screen. This was not the kind of thing he wanted to see today. He just hoped that those who weren't assimilated died quickly. Vacuum exposure was not something he'd wish on anyone.

* * *

Seven of Nine looked at her alcove, but felt apprehensive about getting into it. She could put if off, she'd gone much longer without regeneration with little to no adverse effects in the past. Those instances were different though. It was either out of love, to spend time with her family, or out of necessity, while the ship was in danger. Now, she was simply nervous about what could possibly be nothing more than a dream more lucid than she was used to.

She glanced over at Icheb, and the other children, who were already deep into their cycles, and sighed. She placed the device the Doctor had given her to her neck, and stepped into her alcove, hoping that the Doctor was right.

She wasn't sure exactly when, but the next thing she knew, she was back in the forest from the previous dream, and a Klingon male was tapping her shoulder to get her attention.

"Welcome back," he said when Seven turned to look at him.

"Who are-"

"Annika," she heard a voice now behind her say. It was the woman from before who had tried to kiss her. Seven finally remembered the name of her species, Mysstren, but still had no recollection of the woman herself

Seven sighed. "I'm regenerating. This is only a dream," she muttered to herself, despite lacking confidence that this was the case.

"No," the woman said, "I brought you here. This is Unimatrix Zero." She moved cautiously towards Seven, visibly trying not to startle her.

"What the hell is Unimatrix Zero?" Seven said.

The other woman smiled. "You've certainly gotten less formal than the last time I saw you." She looked down at Seven's hands. "And more decorative. That ring, what is that?"

Seven held up the hand in question. "It's my wedding ring. It is a practice that started on Earth, though several cultures have similar-"

"Wedding ring? You're married now?" The woman frowned. "When you were gone for so long, I- I suppose it was too much to hope that..." She stepped back.

"I think this is my cue to leave," the Klingon said, walking away.

"Who are you?" Seven said to the woman in front of her.

"Five of Twelve, Secondary Adjunct of Trimatrix 942," she said, "but when I'm here, my name is Axum."

"Axum?" Seven said. The name did sound familiar to her now. "I know that name."

Axum smiled slightly. "Good," she said. "It's starting to come back to you."

"Is anyone there?" Seven heard a voice in the distance shout. It sounded like a small child. Both Seven and Axum headed towards the source of the sound. They reached a clearing where a small boy was walking around, looking confused, but surprisingly not afraid.

"Hello," Axum said, kneeling she she could look the little boy in the eyes.

"I think I'm lost," the boy said.

"I'm Axum," Axum said. "This is Annika. What's your name?"

The child didn't respond right away, and when he did, he seemed to ignore Axum's question. "Father's ship started shaking. Men came aboard. They looked like machines. Will you help me find my father?" Seven of Nine found herself impressed with the child's calm demeanor, remembering how frightened she had been when the Borg had boarded her parent's ship.

"I'll see what I can do," Axum said, standing up. "There are other children here. Would you like to meet them?"

"I just got here too," Seven said to the boy, who was hesitating. "This environment appears to be safe."

The boy nodded, and started walking in a direction Axum had indicated, she and Seven following close behind.

"He must've been recently assimilated," Seven whispered to Axum. "He must still be in a maturation chamber."

"Very likely," Axum said.

"So this isn't a dream, this place is some kind of virtual construct," Seven said, starting to piece together what was going on.

Axum nodded. "We come here during our regeneration cycles. We can exist as individuals here, or at least some of us can."

"So, how long has this been here?" Seven asked.

"Using Human time measurements or Mysstren?"

"Human," Seven said. "Eight to nine years?"

Axum shook her head. "No, much longer than that. Though, now that you mention it, I've been seeing more people here than usual in the past few years. Did something happen to the Borg nine of your years ago?"

"That's what I've been trying to determine," Seven said. "That something occurred I am certain of, but trying to uncover what that was has been frustrating."

Axum nodded. "Perhaps this mystery event of yours is responsible for spreading the recessive mutation."

"The what?" Seven said.

"You really don't remember, do you?" Axum said. "Only one out of approximately every ten million drones has it, though that number may be increasing. Tell me more about this theory of yours."

"I will," Seven said. "But first, I want to know why you brought me here. And why now."

"The Collective has found a way to detect us," Axum said. "It's a lengthy procedure, but they've managed to identify and deactivate nearly two-hundred of us in the last few months."

Seven wondered why Axum had waited so long to tell her this, as it seemed like a rather important detail, but she decided that criticizing her would accomplish nothing at this juncture.

"It's only a matter of time before they find enough of us to isolate the interlink frequency," Axum continued.

"Why would she even bother?" Seven said.

"She?"

"The Borg Queen," Seven said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes," Axum said. "Sorry, I just don't tend to think of her as a separate entity."

"If you'd seen what I've seen these past few years…" Seven said.

"Well, it's pretty simple," Axum said, "the Borg are attempting to eliminate what they see as a 'malfunction' that has been afflicting the Collective and detracting from 'perfection.'"

"I suppose in her twisted mind it makes sense," Seven said, "but for a number of drones that small compared to how many she has at her disposal this seems like an incredible waste of resources for minimal gain."

"You aren't wrong, but it is happening. However, I believe that once the Borg have the interlink frequency to Unimatrix Zero, we can turn their advantage against them."

"Clarify," Seven said, giving Axum a look that Sam had dubbed the 'pull the other one, it has bells on it' look.

"We've designed a nanovirus-" Axum said. Seven raised a hand to cut her off.

"I doubt that will work," she said. "You would not the first to attempt to bring down the Collective with a virus. In short, the damage done was negligible. Two cubes were lost, and four recently assimilated children were freed. That's the entirety of benefits gained from such attacks."

"If you would let me finish, Annika," Axum said. "The nanovirus me and some of the others came up with should mask the biosignature of the mutation. We know full well we can't destroy the Borg, at least not without destroying ourselves in the process. This isn't about victory. It's survival."

Seven nodded. "I apologize for my interruption."

"Forgiven," Axum said, smiling. "As for the virus itself, we need someone on the outside to release it into the Collective. We can't do it ourselves, once we've completed our regeneration cycles we have no memory of this place until we return again. You could do it though. You're free."

"I wouldn't be for very long if I were to be re-assimilated in the process," Seven said.

"I have faith in you Annika," Axum said. After a few moments of awkward silence, she spoke up again. "So, what's her name?"

"Who?"

"The woman who stole you away from me," Axum said.

"Samantha," Seven said. "My wife's name is Samantha."

"Human?"

"Yes. Is that relevant?"

Axum sighed. "No, I suppose not."

"Some disappointment is natural in situations such as yours," Seven said. "Just do not allow it to overwhelm you. Whatever it was we had here in Unimatrix Zero, assuming you are telling the truth, is over now, through no fault of your own. It is in both our interests that you do not attempt to rekindle the flame, to borrow a phrase."

"Harsh, but fair," Axum said. "Our encampment is just up ahead. If you have time, would you like to say hello to some of your friends? They've missed you over the past few years since you were freed."

"Perhaps another time," Seven said, not wanting to face a large group of people who would recognize her when she would be unable to return the courtesy. "Once my cycle has ended, I will inform my Captain."

"Captain?"

"I'm part of a starship crew now. I will need their help if I am to introduce this nanovirus to the Collective. Share everything you have on with me."

"Of course," Axum said. She looked down at Seven's chest. Seven was prepared to admonish her, but Axum looked up. "Starfleet," she said, smiling. "You're on a Federation ship? That's excellent news. If anyone would have the resources to pull off such a mission it would be them. I can't believe I didn't recognize the uniform right away. Science blues. Can't say I'm surprised."

"You know the Federation?"

"Of course," Axum said. "We've had Humans and Romulans here for years, ever since the first Borg scout ships reached the Alpha Quadrant. And you met Korok earlier, my Klingon friend."

Seven felt silly for having asked the question. When she reported on this encounter to Captain Janeway she would leave out this detail. _And I won't tell Sam either_.

"Are you all wearing here what you were when you were assimilated?" Seven said.

"Some of us, sure," Axum said. "That's how I recognized the uniform, once I bothered to actually look at it that is. When you're here you can look like anything you…" Axum's voice drifted off, and she looked up as if something was above Seven's head. "My cycle is about to end. Talk to your Captain. We can't do this withou-" Axum vanished.

* * *

As soon as she'd awoken from her regeneration cycle, Seven of Nine contacted Captain Janeway, and after giving her a brief summary of what had occurred, convinced the Captain to assemble a meeting of the senior staff. She wished that Janeway had given her enough time to talk to Sam before the meeting, but the Captain had insisted that if what Seven was saying was true, they needed to be briefed as soon as possible.

Once the senior staff was ready, Seven filled them in on everything Axum had told her, only leaving out the detail of their past relationship within Unimatrix Zero, deeming it irrelevant.

"I'm going to go on record as saying this is a bad idea," Tom said. "We've done the infiltrating a Borg ship thing before, and that ended up turning into a rescue mission."

"No offense intended, Seven," Harry said, "but how do you know this wasn't some kind of a dream?"

"I can answer that," the Doctor said. "Seven was wearing a cortical monitor the whole night. She never reached R.E.M. sleep."

"So let's say that Unimatrix Zero is real," Captain Janeway said. "Do we know exactly how many drones are there?"

"Unknown," Seven said. "As I said, the number of drones with the mutation is small. Even still, it could number in the thousands."

Janeway nodded. "Well, we've already responded to one distress call this week."

"I don't like this," B'Elanna said. "This is going to sound harsh but are we sure this is worth us putting our asses on the line?"

"I believe it is," Seven said. "Though we will not need to put all of our asses in danger."

Tom stifled a laugh. Seven wondered why it continued to amuse him every time he heard Seven utter a crude expletive. She didn't do it anywhere as often as many of her peers, that was true, but it wasn't a rare occurrence. "A small group could take a shuttle once, and if, we find a Borg vessel within range."

"Before we do that," Janeway said, "I think we need to learn as much about this potential weakness in the Collective as we can. I want to meet Axum. "

"Without an interlink node," Chakotay said, "how would that be possible?"

"There is a Vulcan technique known as 'bridging of the minds' that I believe could allow for such an interaction," Tuvok said. "I would need to form a mind-meld with both you and Seven of Nine. I would act as a telepathic conduit."

"Sounds like one heck of a conference call," Harry said.

"Well, Seven," Janeway said, "looks like you'll be turning in early tonight. Everyone, dismissed. Tuvok, do what you need to to prepare."

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok said. The senior staff filed out, but Seven remained behind, silently signaling the Captain to remain.

"Was there something else you wanted to tell me, Seven?"

"Yes," Seven said, feeling awkward. "There is something I did not mention regarding Axum. Since you will be entering Unimatrix Zero, I believe you need to know."

* * *

As Captain Janeway and Chakotay made their way to the cargo bay to meet up with Tuvok and the Doctor, and presumably Seven depending on how long it took to inform Samantha of what was happening, Janeway couldn't help but wonder how comfortable Sam would be knowing that their liaison to the drones within Unimatrix Zero was Seven's ex. In fact, she wondered how it felt for Seven to find out that she even had an ex, one that she had completely forgotten about until just last night.

She pushed the thought aside and focused on giving last minute instructions to Chakotay.

"Stay at yellow alert," she said. "Maintain long-range scans for Borg vessels. Any sign of trouble, you know where to find me."

"This will be one away mission for the history books," Chakotay said.

Janeway smirked. "Plenty of Starfleet Officers have found themselves in virtual worlds before, Commander. This isn't all that different from going into the holodeck, it's just that it's going to be in the collective minds of multiple Borg drones instead of… Okay, I see your point."

"Regardless, I'll hold down the fort until you get back. By the way, where will the Borg kids be during this?"

"Neelix is keeping them occupied in the mess hall. The twins want to learn how to cook, apparently."

"That should be interesting," Chakotay said, laughing. "Those two aren't even tall enough to reach the stove."

Before Janeway could respond to that, they reached the door.

"Here's where I get off,' Janeway said, patting Chakotay on the shoulder. Chakotay nodded and headed off, going to the bridge. Janeway stepped inside the cargo bay as the Doctor applied a cortical monitor to Tuvok's neck. Seven of Nine stood patiently next to her alcove.

"Are we ready?" Janeway said.

"We are," Tuvok said.

"Here," the Doctor said, attaching another monitor to Janeway's neck. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Janeway said, moving over to stand next to Seven.

"As your conduit," Tuvok said, "I will be able to see both of your perceptions. If something goes wrong, I will break the meld."

"Understood," Janeway said, having full confidence in her oldest friend. Tuvok placed a hand on the side of Seven's face, the other on her own. Janeway closed her eyes

"Your minds, to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts."

Tuvok repeated the mantra, and Janeway felt something she couldn't describe. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a forest much like the one Seven had described.

 _Why a forest?_ she thought. _Why not a city?_ It occurred to her that with so many drones, each one having a different vision of where they would want to live, that perhaps an unremarkable forest like this was a compromise of some sort.

"Welcome to Unimatrix Zero," she heard Seven say. She turned, and tilted her head.

"Seven? What are you wearing?"

Seven looked puzzled, then looked down. "It would appear I'm wearing an outfit that Samantha replicated for me on our honeymoon," Seven said. "I was unaware that I had done that."

"Isn't it a little warm for winter gear?" Janeway said.

"Indeed," Seven said, closing her eyes. The outfit shifted and soon Seven was wearing her standard uniform. "My apologies, Captain."

"None needed," Janeway said. "I guess you just had Sam on the brain when we got here. Are you worried that Axum might try something inappropriate with you?"

"I made it clear to her that I am in a committed relationship with someone else now, Captain. Axum will have to accept that, though even if she has difficulty doing so, I sincerely doubt she would endanger everyone here in a vain attempt to regain my affections."

"I hope you're right," Janeway said. "Let's go find her."

* * *

"We're close," the Borg Queen said, holding the recently removed head of one of the defective drones in her hands. She briefly wondered why it was the sight of it fascinated her so much. A deactivated drone was nothing new to her, she had seen literally millions in the millenia she'd been alive. A flash of memory came to her, of some kind of code. Familiar, yet she did not recognize it. Words, human in origin, yet buried in a code far more advanced than anything the Federation had and…

"I can almost hear them," she said, forgetting about the code, and thinking again about Unimatrix Zero, and the drones who had managed to escape their perfection there. In a way it could be argued that it was a pity that so many drones had had to be disembodied in order to find it, their voices missing from the many that made up the Collective, but the search for perfection had its costs.

"There," she said, looking at a projection of the data being fed to her by the active drones scanning the bodies of the dead ones. She amplified an image of a signal. "Disrupt the frequency," she said to the Collective. The drone physically closest to her went to a panel and began manipulating its controls.

"Unable to comply," the voice of the Collective told her. "Frequency is resistant to attempts to disrupt."

"They're using a triaxiliating modulation," the Queen said. "If we can't terminate their link, then we will simply have to pay them a visit."

* * *

Seven walked around, looking closely at more and more things and people that were triggering memories for her. She was starting to remember more and more about this place, and the people here, including ones she had called friends. She even remembered more about her relationship with Axum, even though she didn't want to. She felt empathy for Axum, but things had simply changed too much. Perhaps if Seven had learned about this place before she had began to realize she was attracted to Samantha...

She shook her head, as if she could somehow physically make her confused feelings go away. She instead focused her attention behind her now, listening in as Axum spoke to Captain Janeway.

"So you can see why we want to protect this place," Axum said.

"We're willing to help you," Janeway said, "but I'm concerned that we'd only be putting off the inevitable. Even if we succeeded, and you remain hidden for a year, ten years, the Borg would eventually find you again. Have you considered a more permanent solution?"

"It is something we've discussed around here," Axum said. "We do not believe that what I think you're suggesting is possible. We've got a good sanctuary here."

"But that's all it is," Janeway said. "A sanctuary. If you could somehow carry your individualities into the real world, wake up from your regeneration cycles with your memories intact-"

"We're too spread out," Axum said. Seven moved over to join them.

"Agreed," she said. "They would be hopelessly outnumbered."

"In a straight up fight, absolutely," Janeway said. "But I'm talking about more subtle means. You could undermine the Borg's control over you."

"That's a very ambitious idea, Captain," Axum said. "But how would we retain our memories when we leave?"

"That, I don't know yet," Janeway said, turning to look at Seven. "We do know a good deal about Borg technology. Maybe we could-"

A distant scream grabbed Seven's attention, and cut Captain Janeway off mid-sentence. Seven ran towards where the scream came from, Janeway and Axum behind her. Soon more screaming and yelling could be heard, as could footsteps. Slow, methodical, footsteps accompanied by the sounds of whirring gears.

"Oh no," Seven muttered, and when she reached a clearing, her fears were confirmed. Numerous denizens of Unimatrix Zero were running in terror, as Borg drones chased them. She saw one man trip over a branch, and the drone chasing him caught up, grabbed him, and launched its assimilation tubules into his neck. He cried out in pain briefly, then fell over, and vanished. She looked around, and realized that as more of the people here panicked, the harder it became for them to navigate the forest, the trees seeming to shift closer together, more and more branches appearing out of nowhere to trip up the fleeing. Their fears were affecting the landscape. She closed her eyes, and tried to focus on clearing more escape paths, as well as adding more obstacles for the drones the same way she had changed her clothes earlier.

"Why are there so few drones, and why are they only chasing certain people?" Janeway said.

"She hasn't found all of us," Axum said, sounding scared. "It could be that she is only sending drones who share a vessel or a unicomplex with the ones she has, and is targeting them."

"We need weapons," Janeway said. Seven agreed, and as soon as the thought crossed her mind, suddenly she and the Captain each held a phaser rifle. Seven wondered why that had been so easy, yet altering the forest to aid the others proved so difficult, but that would have to be determined later.

Seven heard rather than saw Janeway running off. She looked to see where the Captain was going, just in time to see Janeway angrily smash the butt of the phaser rifle in the face of a drone standing over a cowering child. Janeway stepped back, levelled the rifle and fired, knocking the drone back. It collided with a tree, a branch catching one of the wires protruding from its face hard enough to pull it out. The drone convulsed, then disappeared.

A drone appeared behind Janeway. Seven opened her mouth to shout a warning, but the drone fell back as the Klingon, Korok, leapt out, bat'leth swinging. He quickly finished off the drone before letting out a loud battle cry and running off to find more drones to fight.

"Who says there's never a Klingon around when you need one?" Janeway said.

"No one," Seven said.

"That was rhetorical, Ensign Hansen," Janeway said, smirking as she helped the child to his feet.

"I think we've routed them for now," Axum said, fear visible in her features as she walked past Seven. "I need to find out who we lost. Excuse me."

* * *

Janeway and Tuvok stepped out of the turbolift on to the bridge. Tuvok immediately took his place at tactical.

"So, how did it go?" Chakotay said. Janeway didn't say anything. She just gave Chakotay a quick look, then walked to her ready room. Chakotay took the nonverbal cue and followed her.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well," he said after the door closed behind him. Janeway sighed as she sat behind her desk.

"We ran into a little bit of trouble," Janeway said. "The Collective's found a way to infiltrate Unimatrix Zero. It won't be long before they learn enough to destroy it from the inside out. I plan to stop them."

"What have you got in mind?" Chakotay said.

"The people there are vulnerable. They don't have the ability to take action in the real world. We're going to give them that ability."

"How?" Chakotay asked. If he had any doubts about Janeway's plan, he wasn't showing them. She hoped that if he did have any alternative ideas he wouldn't hold them back.

"The Doctor and B'Elanna are working on it," Janeway said, "and Seven seems to think that she can come up with a way for them to defend themselves within the virtual construct as well."

"I'd be remiss in my duties as First Officer if I didn't point out that we'd be violating upwards of half a dozen Starfleet protocols if we do this," Chakotay said.

"And if the Borg find out we're involved, we'd be putting _Voyager_ in the middle of a civil war," Janeway said. "I know. That's why you're here. We've had our disagreements, and there have been times when I chose to proceed without your support. This can't be one of those times. If you don't want to back me on this, than we won't do it. Simple as that. This plan has both of us behind it, or none of us."

Chakotay nodded, but it didn't take more than a second for him to respond. "The way I see it, risking the safety of _Voyager_ is a small price to pay. If we help these people, this could be the turning point in our war with the Borg. And make no mistake, this has been a war, ever since they first invaded the Alpha Quadrant. Maybe not a hot war, but they have tried to take Earth. Twice. In my opinion, the Prime Directive doesn't apply here. We'd be taking actions to defend not just ourselves, but frankly the entire galaxy."

Janeway smiled. "No pressure though, right?"

Chakotay smiled back. "No pressure."

"You know, I'm glad we agree. I was about ready to talk myself out of it."

"That doesn't seem like you, Kathryn."

"I've been reevaluating things a lot lately. But that's a conversation for another time."

* * *

"Okay, and?" Samantha said.

Seven of Nine had gone over several scenarios in her mind to prepare for whatever Sam might say when Seven told her about Axum. Apparent disinterest had been on the list, but nearer the bottom than the top.

"I... don't know what to say to that," Seven said. "You are taking this better than I expected."

"Actually," Sam said, "I'm concerned about you. This must be weird for you. Finding out you have an ex-girlfriend that you don't remember is bad enough, but from what you're telling me you didn't have much time to process that before things went sideways in the Unimatrix."

"It is… disconcerting," Seven admitted. She took Sam's hand in her's and squeezed it gently, grateful for having someone she could talk openly about this with.

"I hope you didn't think I would be mad or anything," Sam said. Seven sighed.

"I did, but if you're going to say I shouldn't have, you are absolutely correct. It was illogical of me. I'm sorry."

"Well," Sam said, smirking, "just don't do it again, okay?" She added a wink, and Seven couldn't help but smile. She looked over at Naomi and Icheb, who were both eating and trying very hard to look like they weren't listening.

"Okay," Sam said to the children, "go ahead, ask your questions. I just can't promise Annie will answer them."

Seven sighed. She didn't want to answer any of the questions she felt the kids would ask her, but she also knew that if she didn't answer at least some of them they would most likely keep pressing her on them until she gave up. Best to avoid any such frustration now.

"Is she pretty?" Naomi asked. Sam covered her mouth to try and hide her laugh.

"I do not believe that is an appropriate question," Icheb said.

"You were thinking it too," Naomi said defensively.

"I can assure you, I was not."

"I suppose I thought so at one point," Seven said honestly. "As it stands now, I just do not see her the way I assume I did before I was freed from the Collective. I do not look at her any differently than I see anyone else on this that I'm not romantically involved with."

"How much of your time in Unimatrix Zero do you remember?" Icheb said. "Additionally, would it be possible for myself and the other children to see it ourselves?"

Seven was about to tell Icheb that she absolutely would not allow that, especially not while the Collective was still a threat, but the door chime stopped her before she could say it.

"Who is it?" Sam said.

"It's Tom," Tom Paris' voice said from the other side of the door.

"Come in," Sam said, looking at Seven as if to ask her if she knew why Tom was coming to their quarters. Seven simply shrugged, her way of saying she didn't know.

"Hey guys, hope I'm not interrupting anything," Tom said.

"It's just a quick dinner," Sam said. "What brings you here?"

Tom, looking somewhat excited, sat on the edge of the bed since all the chairs were taken, a PADD in his hand. "I was think about what you were telling us about Unimatrix Zero after you and the Captain got back," he said, looking at Seven. "You mentioned that you were basically able to summon weapons with your thoughts."

"An oversimplification," Seven said, "but accurate."

"So, obviously the Unimatrix can respond to the wishes of the people in it. They can manipulate it. Sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously."

"Where are you going with this?" Seven said.

"Okay, so, we know that creativity isn't exactly the Borg's strong suit. They aren't really ones for outside the box thinking. They've nearly conquered the majority of this quadrant using the same techniques over and over again, and why not, since those tactics have worked for them for centuries. Their ships are largely utilitarian in design, with the basic geometric shapes and all that."

"Your point?" Sam said.

"My point is," Tom said, "while B'Elanna and the Doc are cooking up their plan to deal with the Borg in the real world, I came up with some ideas we can use to help the people within Unimatrix Zero to defend themselves. The Borg won't see it coming, and will have a harder time adapting since they won't be responding to real life weapons and tactics. Weapons like these." He handed his PADD to Seven, who went over the schematics. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

"Where did you-"

"Get the idea? From some of the TV programs B'Elanna found in the ship's historical database for the replica she built me a few months ago," Tom was smiling, as if he expected Seven to just go along with this without a second thought.

"This is far too impractical. Such devices would require more resources than-"

"What do resources matter in a virtual reality? You just need to be able to convince the people there that they can operate these things, and they'll be able to walk all over any Borg attackers." Tom smiled, a type of smile that Sam referred to as an evil grin. "Literally."

Seven looked at the specs again. Building even one of these things would be near impossible to do on _Voyager_. The storage space alone would require more than half the crew to be moved into group quarters. But Tom was right. Unimatrix Zero was not bound by the same physical laws as the real universe. It only looked like a real place because the people there wanted it to be. She remembered how the environment itself had been affected by the panic of the people fleeing from the drones.

"How many designs like this do you have?" Seven said.

* * *

Janeway looked at the monitor while The Doctor explained to her, B'Elanna Torres, and a recently arrived Seven of Nine what she was seeing.

"This is the nanovirus Axum and her people designed to prevent the Borg from detecting those with the genetic mutation," he said. Janeway nodded, while B'Elanna simply looked at it apathetically. Janeway assumed that it was because she didn't care what it looked like, only that it worked, which was fair enough, but Janeway couldn't deny her own amazement at the complexity of it.

"I have modified it to nullify their cortical inhibitors instead," the Doctor continued. "Once infected, they should retain their memories of Unimatrix Zero after they leave their alcoves."

"Does that mean they'll be able to function as individuals?" Janeway said.

"There's no way to tell," the Doctor said. "This is highly experimental."

"How about deploying it?" B'Elanna said.

"If we could find a Borg ship that we could sneak onto," Janeway said, "we could infect the vinculum."

"That would only affect the drones on that ship," B'Elanna said. "And there's no guarantee that any Borg ship we came across would even have one drone with the mutation, let alone enough to do any damage."

"The central plexus," Seven said.

"That's right," Janeway said, "You told me about those once. It's similar to a vinculum, but it connects with the entire Collective."

"That's all well and good," B'Elanna said, "but wouldn't that thing be the most well guarded part of the ship? It would be probably be kept as far away from the assimilation chambers as possible just in case any captures got loose."

"As its name implies," Seven said, "it would be at the geographic center of any ship."

"Okay, so we got our how," Janeway said. "How about our where? Any Borg activity in the area?"

Seven went to a nearby console. "According to data obtained in astrometrics, a vessel dropped out of transwarp 3.6 light-years from here."

"That seems awfully close," B'Elanna said. "Are we sure they aren't looking for us?"

"Unknown," Seven said, pushing a few more buttons. "I believe I can get us a closer look at what kind of… of... No."

"Seven?" Janeway said. Seven stepped back from the screen.

"No, that can't be right," she said.

"Seven, what's wrong?"

"That is a class-4 cube. Ablative armor plating on hull, twice as many weapons as the standard cube. But it can't be, not this far out."

"Seven, talk to me," Janeway said. "Why can't it be?"

"Class-4 cubes exist for one purpose. To defend the core systems if they were ever to be compromised. Drones were never allowed to have that information on hand, it was that vital to the Collective."

"So, basically the Borg homeworld?" B'Elanna said.

"Homeworlds," Seven said. "Wherever it is, it's the system where the Borg originated from, and every solid body in it was converted to hold data. Everything the Collective learns goes there, even the irrelevant data, to be stored. Geopbytes upon geopbytes of information."

"Yeah," B'Elanna said, "I can see why one of those being this far away from Borg space would bother you. A single standard cube decimated Starfleet and nearly took over Earth. Twice."

"And this is a souped up version of one of those," The Doctor said, echoing Janeway's thoughts almost to the word.

"The Borg wouldn't mobilize a ship like this unless they thought they were facing an existential threat," Janeway said, shaking her head. "And we didn't see even one of these during their war with Species 8472. We are definitely not going to try our plan with this one. I don't like having to wait, but we don't have a choice. I'm not throwing my science vessel up against a ship that the Borg only use when they think shit just got real.

"Prepare the virus anyway, Doctor," she added. "I want to have it ready the moment a better option presents itself to us. Seven, keep working on how to help the people in Unimatrix Zero defend themselves in the short term. They're going to need to hold out a little longer. B'Elanna, I want you to help Seven and Tom with their designs. The more plausible we can make them the easier it will be to bring them into existence."

"Well, we can certainly try," B'Elanna said.

* * *

"Korok has been uniting the Klingons we have here," Axum said, filling Seven in on what had happened since she and Janeway had returned to _Voyager_ , "and they're giving bat'leths to anyone who can handle one." Axum picked up the one that was resting against a tree stump next to her. "Myself included. Takes some getting used to, it's impressive looking but not terribly practical as melee weapons go. We've also got Hirogen hunters moving through the forest targeting drones, but we're still losing people every hour."

"Captain Janeway is doing all she can to help," Seven said. She told Axum about how the Doctor had reworked the virus. She also told her about the Class-4 cube. " _Voyager_ won't abandon you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Axum said. "I don't doubt for a moment that your crew genuinely wants to help, I'm just not entirely confident they can. Maybe if they had more time."

"If you can convince enough of the people here to focus their thoughts," Seven said, "you could use the machines Mister Paris suggested-"

"It won't work," Axum said, shaking her head. "I know that in theory we can manipulate the environment of this place any way we want since it's all merely ones and zeros, but if we were capable of creating anything as big as what your friend wants us to, do you think we'd all be living in tents?"

"I had wondered about that," Seven admitted. "I just felt it would be rude to ask."

Axum opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when a human woman, Laura, whom Seven had apparently been friends with years before, ran up to them. "Eleven more drones, headed this way," she said.

Seven closed her eyes, and within a fraction of a second felt the weight of a phaser rifle in her hands. "I'll help hold them off. Find someone, anyone, creative and intelligent enough to make one of those machines. We can do this."

"I can try," Axum said, "but I can't promise anything."

Seven ran off to catch up to some of the others, each holding a weapon native to their own homeworlds, to face the invading drones. Tom had been right about the Collective's lack of imagination being an advantage to the people in Unimatrix Zero, but she also knew that wouldn't hold forever. The Borg were capable of developing new techniques and technologies; that ability had atrophied due to centuries of them merely taking such things from other races, but it was not gone completely. The Borg Queen's attempt to convince Seven of Nine that her removal from the Collective and placement on _Voyager_ had been part of a deliberate, elaborate scheme had certainly been creative. Foolish, but creative.

 _This situation is inevitably going to get worse_ , she thought. _The only variable is time._

* * *

"That's your plan A?" Tom Paris said, sounding shocked and horrified at what B'Elanna had just suggested. Captain Janeway agreed with him completely, but worked to keep her expression neutral. For now at least.

"It's the simplest, most direct way, and the one least likely to get everyone killed," B'Elanna said.

"In addition," the Doctor added, "using Axum's nanovirus, whoever we send to the cube would retain their individuality. I don't like the Lieutenant's plan either, but the benefit of saving thousands if not millions of people from an eternity as drones seems worth the risk."

"You of all people are making this a numbers game?" Tom said. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. You want us to send people to a Borg ship to be deliberately assimilated? That's just insane. That is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas!"

"Lieutenant Paris' needless exaggeration aside," Tuvok said, "I'm inclined to agree. While it is true that if the assimilated crew members are recovered soon enough removing their Borg implants would be far easier and more complete than what could be done for Seven of Nine, that is assuming they could be recovered at all. Keep in mind also that the process of assimilation frequently leads to the removal of an arm, an eye, or even both of any given subject."

"A valid concern," the Doctor said, "but I can clone organs, and even in the worst case scenario I am more than capable of producing high end prosthetics-"

"We can't do this," Tom said. "Right, Captain?"

"Tom and Tuvok are right," Janeway said. "This idea could all too easily turn into a suicide mission. I can't order anyone to undertake such an operation."

"Captain," B'Elanna said, "it wouldn't have to be an order. I'm willing to volunteer. I'm the best engineer on the ship, if anyone could find a way to the central plexus of a Borg ship without tripping any alarms it would be me."

Tom simply groaned.

"I can't order anyone to take on such an operation," Janeway repeated. "Which is why I'll do it."

"What?" Chakotay said, not even trying to mask his shock.

"I'll go, and I'll go alone," Janeway said. "I'm not going to risk my entire crew, but I am not going to abandon the people in Unimatrix Zero either. I'll take a shuttle in close to the cube and try to get their attention so they'll beam me aboard."

"If you insist on doing this, Captain," the Doctor said, "then perhaps we should wait until we can find a smaller ship."

"There's nothing close enough," B'Elanna said. "I've checked astrometrics' data three times. It's the Class-4 or we end up waiting for weeks if not months. Unimatrix Zero won't have that long."

"According to Starfleet Tactical Directive 36," Tuvok said, "the Captain shall not engage a hostile force without the protection of a security officer."

"We've done a pretty lousy job of holding to that one," Janeway said with a smirk.

"The probability of success is greater if there are two of us," Tuvok continued. He stood at attention, his arms behind his back. Janeway knew him well enough to know that arguing with him would only drag things out, and they did not have that kind of time.

"Very well," she said.

"Make that three of us," B'Elanna said. "If we're going to pull this off you're going to need an engineer in there. I'm going too."

"Like hell," Tom said.

"Tom," B'Elanna said, "don't start. When you get all possessive like this you start to remind me of Burke."

Tom looked like he'd been physically slapped when she invoked the name of her ex, and the late first officer of the _Equinox_. He sighed, and looked ashamed.

"I appreciate that you care, Tom," B'Elanna said gently placing her hands on Tom's shoulders. "But remember, I didn't try to stop you when you went on the mission to rescue Seven last year."

"I just don't want to lose you to the Borg," Tom said, sighing as he spoke.

"You won't," Janeway said. "I'm sorry, B'Elanna, I know this is your plan, but we've already got two of the senior staff on this mission."

"No offense intended, Captain, but when has that ever stopped us before?" B'Elanna said.

"Maybe it should have," Janeway said. "If the late Captain Ransom was right about one thing, it's that we've been relatively lucky out here. That's not going to hold forever though. I think we all know this. I won't ask anyone on your team to take your place B'Elanna, but I can't risk you. You know these engines better than anyone. You and Tom are going to be this ship's best hope if you have to run."

B'Elanna looked like she wanted to argue, but instead bit her lip and simply nodded.

"You all have your orders," Janeway said. "Mister Paris, set a course to intercept the cube. Dismissed."

Chakotay remained behind as the rest of the senior staff headed onto the bridge.

"You were awfully quiet in there," Janeway said.

"Remember when I said I didn't have any objections?"

"Chakotay-"

"At least you won't be going in alone. If you'd pressed that point I would've spoken up."

"Good thing I let Tuvok and B'Elanna badger me then," Janeway said.

"Except you won't take B'Elanna with you," Chakotay said. "She's right, with her help you stand a better chance of getting out of there alive."

"No," Janeway said. "We'll need her here if this turns FUBAR. Frankly I'm hoping that no one on her team volunteers. It's bad enough I'm risking myself and Tuvok."

"You could always take a few more security officers with you," Chakotay said. "Though I imagine you'd argue that having too many people on the team would be just as dangerous as too few."

"You know me too well," Janeway said. "Except I was going to say that having too many people would be worse. Just remember, Commander, if the worst comes to pass, your priority is the safety of this ship. This isn't a damaged sphere we're going up against. There's no way we could pull off another mission like the one we did last year to rescue Seven."

"Understood," Chakotay said. "Since there's going to be more than more one person on this trip, will you be taking the _Delta Flyer_ instead of a standard shuttle?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Janeway said, "but since you mention it, a Starfleet ship with integrated Borg technology aboard? That might be a good lure."

* * *

B'Elanna pinched the bridge of her nose, and tried not to raise her voice.

"When exactly did the two of you become so inseparable?" she said to Vorik and Marla.

"I did not ask her to join me," Vorik said. "When she learned I'd volunteered, Miss Gilmore insisted."

"I know what you're thinking, Lieutenant," Marla said, "but it's not anything like that. It's just that we've shown we work well as a team. Surely you've seen our staff reviews."

"Not really," B'Elanna admitted. "There's only so much a report can tell you. But yeah, I have noticed that Vorik's performance had improved, slightly, since the two of you were put on the third shift together. But that doesn't mean I need to let both of you go on the mission to the Borg ship. And even if I did agree to this, the Captain would just order one of you to stay behind anyway."

"If that happens, it happens," Marla said. "I won't push it. I just want the chance to try. I think if we both go with them, that's just as good as if you were going by yourself."

"If it were anyone other than you, Gilmore, I'd think I was being brown-nosed," B'Elanna said. She rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Fine. Report to the shuttle bay. I expect I'll be seeing one of you back here in an hour or so."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Marla said. She turned to face Vorik. "Ready?"

"I have read our most current data on the interior of the Class-4 cube provided by Ensign Hansen," Vorik said. "I am confident the away team can reach the central plexus with minimal difficulty, with our assistance."

The two engineers both headed for the exit. B'Elanna watched them leave, barely noticing Joe Carey moving to stand next to her.

"She's not lying, you know," Carey said.

"About what?"

"They aren't dating. This thing those two seem to have is more Kirk and Spock than Nick and Nora."

"Nick and Nora? Are they in science division?"

"I'll explain later," Carey said.

* * *

After managed to rout the invading drones again, Seven had left Unimatrix Zero to be briefed on what had happened while she was there. She had been informed of the Captain's plan, and thought it was an irrational move, but it was already too late for her to object. She had exited her alcove just in time to be told that the _Delta Flyer_ had already launched with Captain Janeway, Tuvok, Vorik, and Marla Gilmore on board.

She wondered why the Captain had agreed to take them as opposed to B'Elanna Torres, but decided that she could find out later. After getting something to eat, she returned to Unimatrix Zero to fill them in on the overall plan the Captain was implementing.

"Remember, when you leave your alcoves," she said, "you may be startled. Disoriented. But you will have to behave like drones, or we could all be exposed."

"Our ships are scattered across the galaxy," Laura said. "Most of us may be the only drone on board who knows about this place. What can we hope to achieve?"

"Each of us should gather as much tactical data as we can," Korok said. "Only a fool goes to war without a plan. What type of ship we're on, its location, armaments."

"Precisely," Axum said. "After that, we can coordinate our next moves from here."

Seven looked off into the distance, and saw the massive machine standing by the coast, relieved that at least some of the people here had managed to clear their minds enough to be able to summon such technologies at will. It was a unique situation, being in a place where one's imagination could be used as a weapon, and the prompting provided by the images taken from Tom Paris' entertainment programs had sparked those imaginations. Part of her actually felt sorry for the Borg drones that had been crushed under its massive feet, or incinerated by its weaponry.

"What are those things called again?" she heard Korok say, almost flinching. She hadn't realized that the Klingon was now standing next to her.

"Mister Paris used several names interchangeably," she said. "but the most common one was 'mecha.'"

"Mecha. Hmm. I'd simply call it a giant robot."

"That would be inaccurate," Seven said, "as these machines require sentient operators. A robot would be able to act independently to at least some degree-"

"Don't ruin this for him, Annika," Axum said, chuckling. "I think he's just jealous that he's not piloting one of them. I have to say, your friend Tom had the right idea. The Borg drones coming in here were astonishingly ill-prepared for this kind of thing."

"They will adapt,' Seven said. "Though not immediately, thanks to a combination of factors, not the least of which is the Degradation."

"Still no idea what's causing that?" Axum asked.

"None," Seven said, frustration creeping into her voice. "I'm running out of viable hypotheses. At this point all my research is doing is keeping my wife awake some nights. She is simply too kind to tell me to just put down the PADDs and come to bed."

"I hope I get to meet her someday," Axum said. "This Samantha sounds like an amazing person."

"I believe she is," Seven said. "Though I am clearly biased in that regard."

"Axum, Seven," Laura said, walking up to the two of them. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Seven said.

"The incursions have been happening at fairly regular intervals. The number of types of drones varies, but the variation on time between attacks has never been more than a minute and a half in either direction."

"And?" Axum said.

"And, by my calculations, we're more than ten minutes overdue for another assault," Laura said, looking worried.

Axum sighed. "Under ideal circumstances that would be good news. But this, what is that human phrase, something to do with shoes?"

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop," Seven said, her own concern growing. It was too much to hope for that the Borg Queen had simply given up.

* * *

The Doctor found himself glad that he never had to worry about sweat falling into his eyes, or his hands shaking. The nervousness he felt was real enough though as he watched the screen on the auxiliary tactical station on the bridge, standing right behind Commander Chakotay who sat in the Captain's chair.

Everyone on the bridge watched silently at the image of the Borg Class-4 cube on the screen. They couldn't see the _Delta Flyer_ from this distance, not even with long-range sensors on full magnification, but they had no choice. Any closer and they risked alerting the cube to their presence.

"They've been detected," Harry said. "The cube is firing on them."

"Are they inside the cube's shield radius?" Chakotay said. "Have we detected any transporter activity?"

"Affirmative," Harry said. "They're on-"

Tom's gasp grabbed the Doctor's attention. "Bastards! The _Flyer's_ gone! They just blew her up!"

"Easy, Tom," Chakotay said. "We knew this was a risk. Stay focused, and be ready to get us out of here if we need to."

The next minute felt exactly like a minute to the Doctor, but he knew enough about sentients to know that it must've felt exponentially longer to the rest of the crew. He kept watching, waiting for the signal to change, though he held onto a slim hope that it wouldn't; that the Captain and the others could get to the central plexus and spread the nanovirus without allowing themselves to assimilated. The fact that he was completely confident that the modified version of the virus would protect them from becoming part of the hivemind did nothing to assuage his concerns.

"Doctor?" Chakotay said.

"No change yet," the Doctor said. After another minute, an alarm noise went off on the console, but he saw what it meant a fraction of a second before. "Their life signs are destabilizing," he said.

Chakotay sighed heavily. "Keep following that cube, Tom," he said, not even trying to hide the fact that he was scared for their crewmates as everyone else. "Just don't let them see us."

"Yes, sir," Tom said.

To Be Concluded in Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion Part 4: Hotter Than Hell


End file.
